Better Off Dead
by seaoftrees
Summary: It was supposed to be a fresh start: a new town, a new school, and a new life. But when Allen starts seeing things he shouldn't and stirring up trouble in all the wrong places, maybe he was better off back where he started. If only he knew where that was. Maybe God turned his back on him, after all. Semi AU, Different Pairings, and some explicit content.
1. Ghost!

Allen almost fell backward as his eyes traced the building up into the gloomy morning sky. It wasn't as big as he would've expected, and looked rather old and run down, with shingles missing and ivy lacing up the walls and into cracked brickwork. The peaks of the gothic style roof hid the sun and left the front courtyard shrouded with a cold blanket of shadows. Unnerved by the eerie setting, he shivered beneath the cover of the morning fog and noticed that a graveyard lined with headstones and worn crosses surrounded the building. This was definitely no place for a school.

"Eh?! This can't be possible!"

Allen brought his map closer to his face and realized that he'd gone the opposite direction of the school. This actually _was_ a random graveyard. Even though he convinced himself wouldn't need it, the map he brought along was the only help he was going to find in this empty part of town._ It's just one or two turns, Allen, get it together!_

"So, if this dot is the cemetery, and I'm here, then," he murmured and traced his finger along the cross wires of streets marked on the map. This part of town was poorly marked and rather sketchy, making his sense of direction equal to a broken compass.

He pulled his nose out of the map when the sound of laughter fluttered in his ears. Beyond the gates of the cemetery, there was a group of girls, a little older than him, giggling and strolling down the sidewalk, but what grabbed his attention was their uniforms; they matched the one he was wearing. It was strange to see other students near here; he was sure the dorms were a lot closer to the school, although he didn't visit them when a disinterested teacher showed him around the school. _Living on campus would make my life a lot easier,_ he thought. _But paying for a dorm room would be more than Cross's debts. Maybe._

Just as he got up the nerve to call out to them and ask for directions, one of the girls tripped and fell, her shoe flying off into the street. All the other girl's jovial tones suddenly shifted serious, full of hurt and concern. And then they were laughing once again, trying to cheer up the poor girl who twisted her ankle. He stared dully at their quick shift of emotions and wondered if he could interrupt to ask for help.

Allen shook his head in despair when he realized they would be no help, and that he was going to be late for school. He slowly exited the cemetery gate, making sure to silently shut it behind him. When it settled back in place, the rust seemed to mold back in the same position he'd had so much trouble opening it from. He gave one last look at the foreboding church, and then looked back at the group of girls who were now staring at him in a tight pack of huddled whispers.

"Hey, you!" He looked to his left and right, but there was no one else around.

"Yes, you, with the white hair! Why are you wearing that uniform? 'Cause I've definitely never seen you around or school before. And what are you doing spending your morning in a cemetery?"

"What's up with his face?"

Another girl chimed in, "Super creepy."

At a loss for words, he just stared blankly while pointing at himself. They nodded in response to his hand gesture and glared; were all girls this dramatic? Telling them he just got lost didn't seem like an option; how could he get so lost that he ended up on the other side of town?

While they conspired about his "tattoo" and hypothesized about his hair dye, he watched the same girl who'd fallen hop into the street after her shoe. Too caught up in their own drama, they failed to notice her one-footed struggles aimed toward the middle of the road. She tripped again and gave out a defeated cry when she face planted into the pavement. For some strange reason a cold chill went through him; everything started moving a little slower, his head started pounding; he felt some sort of horrible foreboding presence lingering around him as if it was a warning of something horrible about to happen.

"Get out of the street!" He yelled and started running toward her. She gave an oblivious blink or two in his direction before ignoring him and trying to fit the shoe back on. And then she noticed the headlights piercing through the morning twilight.

There was a loud scream and the screeching of tires, followed by a chain of gasps from the group of girls watching nearby. The large truck didn't even bother stopping, and let out a puff of black smoke as it sped off down the road. As the roar of the engine died down and the dust settled, Allen picked himself off the ground, and held out a hand toward the girl collapsed on the pavement.

"Are you," he was out of breath from sprinting after her and leaned on his knees for support, "okay?"

She pulled herself up to a sitting position, coughing on the dust and smell of burnt rubber that the horrible driver stirred up. Allen wasn't exactly graceful with his rescue; it was more of a tackle than anything else. The girl's terror-stricken face was painted pale, and although she didn't have any major injuries she looked extremely shaken up. Her hair was disheveled, the ponytails that were once intact now left her hair in a mismatched tangled mess. There was a slight bruising on her cheek, but other than that, she looked alright. He was just as relieved as he was breathless at the fact he made it in time; it was a lucky save that border-lined on milliseconds before disaster. Everything was fine: except for the horrible sobs she was letting out.

"Ah, no, I didn't mean to make you cry!" Allen yelped and pulled his hand away in shock. _What did I do?!_

He felt a gush of wind that almost spun him in circles as the group of girls rushed past him and swept up the poor girl. After fawning over her and helping her up, they all looked back over at Allen with strange expressions.

There was a long silence until finally the blue-haired girl spoke up and shakily said, "You, you just saved my life."

"You're like, a total hero!"

"Totally! I judged you all wrong for that tattoo and your freaky hair, but you're a good guy to the core aren't ya?"

"What's your name?"

After the rush of questions, he finally answered, "I-It's Allen, and it's really not like that at all."_ I just didn't want to watch someone get flattened by a car, to be honest._

The girl with the sprained ankle held out her hand and smiled through her tears.

"I'm Lenalee."

* * *

First period was a daze for him; when the girls dragged him along through the streets and into the school building, they told their sob story to the teacher irritated by their late entrance. He begrudgingly pardoned them and they all scuffled to their seats in relief. Apparently he hadn't missed much anyway; the students had advisory for the first hour, just for the first school week, so that everyone could get settled in to the new school year.

His head was spinning from all the noise and people; he'd been isolated for most of his life, and this was already more interaction than he'd had in the past couple of months. The longer the class dragged on, the more he desperately wanted to leave. _Do I really have to do this every day?_

There was a sudden nudge at his shoulder, and he turned around to see a red-headed boy grinning at him. He wore a unique headband, presumably used to tame back his disheveled hair, his uniform was slightly unbuttoned and wrinkled, but there was still an endearing look about him. Allen was the exact opposite; he made sure all his clothes were ironed and sharp, along with a pair of soft gloves and a sweet ribbon around his neck. This kid obviously didn't understand the principle of first impressions, though Allen never really learned how to judge people in the first place. Anyone who got to know him always scolded him for being to naive, but he just couldn't help it.

He gave Allen an award-winning smile and then introduced himself. "I'm Lavi. And you're Allen, of course. Probably sick of introducing yourself by now, huh?"

Without waiting for a response from Allen, he gave a glance at all the girls stealing looks at Allen and then asked, "How'd you do it, man? It's your first day, and you've got these girls wrapped around your finger! I can't even get a single one of them to talk to me!"

Allen waved his hands out in protest and replied, "I was just in the right place at the right time, really! Besides, I think they're just happy Lenalee is okay."

"Jump in front of a moving car? No, that takes a special form of crazy. The same sort of crazy person who'd 'tat up their face like that. Not like I'm one to judge about eyes," he said with a laugh. The eyepatch did seem a little strange to Allen, but asking about it seemed a little rude._ Although, this guy didn't seem to have a filter himself._

"It's not a tattoo, it's a scar." Lavi gave him a strange look at the subtle change in Allen's tone, and it almost looked as if there was curiosity brewing beneath the green surface of his eyes. Allen immediately retreated on his edge of annoyance and smiled warmly again.

"Touchy subject? In any case, you need someone to show you around, right? I'd be happy to show you the ropes."_  
_

He started pointing at people and giving them nicknames, and Allen just smiled politely at the crass ones he had for some of the girls. He was particularly ruthless toward guys._ Hopefully he won't come up with a horrifying nickname for me._

"The empty desk in front of you is Lenalee's, but I guess you already know her." Lavi continued talking about her crazy older brother, and Allen tried his best to stay interested, but couldn't find it in him to care. _Why do I have such a bad headache?_

Suddenly, something caught his eye behind the door. He jumped back in his seat and held in a yelp of surprise when he saw the ghostly figure through the glass pane. It was a distorted, charred and twisted face, surrounded by a deep purple aura; _the figure looked like it was in so much pain_. He looked over at Lavi in horror, who was looking back at him with a puzzled gaze.

"What's up buddy?"

Allen looked back at the door, and the figure disappeared just as quickly as it'd appeared. He did a double-take between Lavi and the door before realizing that whatever he'd seen was definitely gone.

"Nothing," he said slowly while eyeing the door. Lavi followed his gaze until his confusion turned into amusement.

He smirked and said, "Oh, yeah, Yuu's scowl is enough to spook anyone."

"Yuu?"

"The Japanese kid, with the ten feet of hair. Don't let him hear you calling him Yuu, by the way," he said and then called out to the student.

Allen realized that the boy was technically in the direction Allen was looking, and Lavi was right; he almost had the same unnerving aura as the ghostly figure had. Yuu barely glanced in his direction before rolling his eyes and averting his glare back at the board, arms folded and slumped back in his seat. Even though he had a nonchalant attitude, Allen could tell he was stiff and formal; maybe it was the way his faced pinched together to form such an angry complexion.

"Kanda doesn't play well with others," Lavi whispered over to Allen.

"Shut up, idiot, before I make you," Kanda growled as he swiveled back to face them.

Lavi laughed nervously before he said, "Oh, Yuu, didn't see you there! This is Allen."

"I don't see anyone," Kanda said while narrowing his eyes directly at Allen. He shrunk beneath Kanda's gaze and looked over at Lavi for help, who was just as clueless as he was._  
_

"Oh, you're talking about that bean sprout next to you. Maybe if he wasn't so scrawny I would've noticed him sooner, or maybe I just wasn't squinting hard enough."

"Probably took me longer to figure out if you were a boy or a girl," Allen grumbled back.

"What was that?" Kanda slammed his hands down on the table, ready to flip it over and start a full-on fist fight, but the bell rang and people flooded in between their showdown.

"Heh, see you two at lunch, right Allen?" Lavi said nervously before darting off.

"Tch." Kanda almost looked as if he was about to spit on Allen before turning on his heel and pushing his way out of the classroom.

* * *

It was finally time for lunch, and he was definitely ready for a break from teachers and students alike. His appearance was a heated debate between every single person he passed by, usually followed by jaw drops and averted eyes alike. He'd even been hit in the head with a paper airplane, which, when unfolded, was the registration form for the school's atheist club._ No thanks._

It occurred to him that the day before school started, he should probably cover up the scar, at least for classes, but then he decided it wouldn't be a big deal. However, everyone was a lot more ruthless than he'd expected.

"Hey, Allen, over here!" Lavi was flagging him down to come sit by him and Lenalee near the far wall of the cafeteria.

"Me and Lenalee saved you a seat," he said brightly when Allen sat down.

"Oh, Lenalee! Are you okay?" Allen asked rather concerned, noticing the pair of crutches propped beside the table.

"Hmmm? Oh, yes, I'm actually doing well. I'll only be on the crutches for a couple of days, and in two weeks I'll be as good as new!" She seemed genuinely happy, even though she'd just survived a near death experience.

"If only that car would've flattened you, bean sprout," Kanda mumbled while picking at his food with chopsticks. Allen suddenly realized that Kanda was sulking at the end of the table, looking angry as ever while he ate.

"I wouldn't have even bothered saving you if you were in the middle of the road!" Allen raised his fork and threateningly pointed it at Kanda.

"I wouldn't have been in the road in the first place, idiot!" Kanda gripped a chopstick between two of his fingers and readied to hurl it like a dart.

"Stop it, you two!" Lenalee yelled and grabbed both of their wrists, forcing them to lower their weapons and stew silently.

"Sheesh, Kanda, what's your problem? How can you hold a grudge against a guy you've just met?" Lavi whined.

Kanda and Lavi started bickering and even Lenalee joined in too, trying to pull them apart before Kanda poked out Lavi's eyes with chopsticks.

A sudden restlessness overcame him, and he felt detached from all the clusters of fights and conversations surrounding him. The cafeteria felt ten degrees cooler and dropping steadily as he grew more and more uneasy in his seat. The noises around him were muffled, like words underwater, and Allen glanced around for an answer to this terrible feeling. Behind Lenalee, he squinted at the windows on the far end of the room and saw the horror he'd seen earlier: the same face, pressed up against the glass. Except this time, it was a more defined figure - an emaciated, decaying little girl, surrounded by deep, ghostly flames of indigo and purple. He grew paler the more he looked at her torn up dress and ripped skin, and the way tears and silent cries rolled off her face left him wanting to sob alongside her._ Am I going crazy?!_

"Earth to Allen, over. Houston, it looks like we have a problem - Allen's completely lost it and looks like he's going to pass out. Over." Lavi made the radio "_tchh" _noises after every time he said "over" until Lenalee hit him with a lunch tray so he'd stop.

"What?" Allen asked weakly when he tore his eyes from the window. _Why did no one else notice?_ He inspected Lenalee and Lavi, smiling and laughing through mouthfuls of food; they definitely didn't notice. Kanda was still scowling at his now empty plate, and threw a glare over at Allen when he noticed him staring.

"Are there any ghosts at this school?" Allen asked out of the blue when he looked back over to the empty window.

"Where'd that come from? Did 'ya see something?" Lavi said excitedly with a hint of sarcasm.

Allen shook his head as a negative, and then excused his hallucinations on a lack of sleep.

"Well, if you did see something, it could be the maintenance worker who died last week. Worst of all, he was on the job! Yep, our very own Tapps died in the basement. A good guy, if you ask me, it's a shame he-" He stopped and looked over at a very distraught Lenalee on the verge of tears.

"Everyone loved him," she said somberly.

Lavi changed his approach and added, "He had a heart attack after hours, when no one was around to help. No one really knows how it happened. When they took him in to be buried, they also found strange marks all over his skin, like a case of black and blue hives all over him. 'Betcha they didn't have an answer for that one either."

Allen could tell Kanda was intrigued, even though he wouldn't dare look in this direction.

"Why don't we all go investigate the basement?" Allen suggested. It was a far-fetched idea, but maybe if he chased down this lead, he could figure out what his hallucinations were all about. It's not like seeing strange things was a new occupation for him, but he'd never had a tangible lead on anything before.

He could hear his dream being shattered by Kanda's fowl words almost instantly. "I'm not going anywhere with a cursed one like you. Forget it."

"That's a new one," Allen mumbled as he watched Kanda stalk off across the lunchroom. _Cursed one._

"Don't listen to him; probably more of his Japanese voodoo nonsense," Lavi mumbled as he chewed through a mouthful of ramen.

"Lavi, you could learn a thing or two from Allen about manners, in fact," she gave him an odd look before asking, "why do you dress so nicely? The dress code doesn't require gloves or that ribbon, you know."

Before he could conjure up an excuse, the bell gave him one.

"Meet up at the front gate at six!" Lenalee yelled as Allen walked away.

* * *

**Hiya! Now, I know what you're thinking: "UGH, another high school AU fic with Allen as the new kid? Come on!" Okay, you're probably right. It is a ****_bit_**** of an overused idea. (In a couple chapters, you'll probably realize this is super heavy and literally has nothing to do with the innocent school life of a teenage Allen. Heads up now.) **

**Is Allen really just seeing things? Is Lenalee really stupid enough to lay in the middle of the street to put her shoe on? Most of all, what's in the basement?**

**Feedback would be really appreciated! Thanks for reading!**


	2. The Basement

**I forgot a disclaimer, does that matter? For the record's sake, I don't own D. Gray Man.**

* * *

_It's the first day of school and I'm already doing something illegal. Way to go, Allen._ He tried to shake the doubt out of his mind and stepped out of the library, heading toward the main entrance. It was already dark outside, due to the fact fall was nearing its end, and winter was quietly creeping up. However, when he arrived at the worn columns that marked the entrance, there was absolutely no one there.

He looked around worriedly, hoping that the other two hadn't forgotten their plans. Maybe he should just head home; it wasn't like him in the first place to do something like this. But there was this crawling sensation at the back of his head, almost as if he had to do it. He had to know what was going on, whether it be him going crazy or an actual ghost.

There was a loud cry from behind Allen, and his only reaction was to yell out in surprise as Lavi tackled him. After letting go of him, Lavi laughed as Allen tried to stop shaking from the heart attack the other had just given him._ What was up with this guy?_

"You sure do get scared easy, don't you? Come on Allen, you're going to need a lot more bravery if you want to live through tonight." Lavi pulled out a flashlight from his pocket and made menacing faces while clicking it on and off beneath his face, causing the light to rapidly flash. Allen rolled his eyes as he started making ghost noises and instead turned to the other figure, hobbling over with a shiny, jingling object in her hand.

"I've got the keys!" Lenalee chimed as she swung on her crutches on her way over to them. Allen didn't want to ask where she got them, and Lavi didn't seem the least bit surprised. _She must know someone higher up in the administration,_ he assumed, _or maybe she just stole them_.

"Lenalee, are you sure you are okay to go down there?"

"A pair of crutches isn't going to stop me from a ghost hunt! Come on, Allen, I'll be perfectly safe!" _Hopefully we don't find a real ghost down there, or she's in serious trouble._

"Well lookie here, who's that hiding back there? Would it happen to be the infamous Yuu?" Lavi said smugly as he ran up to put his arm around Kanda, who was sauntering up the walkway.

"I came here to warn you idiots to stay out of trouble," he sharply replied and jabbed Lavi in the stomach.

"No, I don't believe that for a second. If anything you'd want us to _get_ in trouble. You're just as interested as we are!" Lavi said excitedly. Allen looked around awkwardly at the three; they all seemed so close, in an odd way, and he felt as if he were almost intruding on their friendship. Kanda's glare was enough to let him know that he probably was. It was strange to Allen that as much as Kanda protested his hatred towards Lenalee and Lavi, he still hung out with them.

"I asked him to come, actually. You never know what'll be down there, and, well, Kanda's a bit more adept at fighting than you Lavi," Lenalee said. _Ouch, that makes me even weaker than Lavi, doesn't it?_

"That cut me deep Lenalee; I thought I was your knight in shining armor! Whatever, let's just get going, I can't wait any longer!"

"There's nothing down there, idiots. We're just wasting our time," Kanda mumbled with a sigh.

Lenalee handed Kanda and Allen a separate flashlight, and they all headed in through the now unlocked front doors.

Allen followed behind them as they walked in, and watched the three of them whisper and laugh and tease each other;_ how did they all get so close?_ None of the three seemed all that similar to the others, especially Kanda, but there was some special, unbreakable bond between them.

"Allen! Don't fall too far behind, or else you'll get lost," Lenalee teased as she led them around corners and down hallways.

Lenalee warned them earlier that they couldn't use their flashlights until they made it to the basement, just in case someone saw the lights from outside through the window. It was so dark within the building that Allen kept bumping into things and getting turned around, so they all eventually agreed that he needed to walk ahead of them, instead of behind. Of course, this was only after he bumped into Kanda and almost cracked his skull open when Kanda retaliated by pushed him to the ground in anger.

"Maybe he's just jumpy because he's scared," Lavi whispered as he helped Allen up. Allen laughed at Lavi's obvious lie while dusting himself off. Minutes later, he _accidentally_ swept his foot under Kanda's, but much to his disappointment Kanda gracefully caught himself instead of falling.

Eventually they came to a dead-end, with a locked door that obviously led to the basement. Allen peeked through the glass on the door and noticed a couple of stairs leading down into a pitch black pool of nothing. Lenalee put the key into the lock, and a definite click seemed to echo through the empty halls.

"Well, we're here. I doubt either of you two will even make it down the stairs before running home crying," Kanda said while crossing his arms.

"Ladies first," Allen said sweetly before gesturing for Kanda to go. Before either of them could spar with flashlights Lenalee pulled the weapons out of their hands and whacked them both on the head.

"Tch." Kanda still punched Allen in the shoulder. Allen tried to hit him back in the same fashion, but Kanda dodged it and left Allen swiping at thin air. Kanda's smug face was enough to make him grit his teeth in frustration. _You win this round, bastard._

"I'm so glad I'm not Yuu's only punching bag now," Lavi said cheerfully as Allen cursed while rubbing his arm.

"Call me Yuu, and I'll rip your tongue out," He growled back. Lavi retreated behind the now fed-up Lenalee.

"Listen here you idiots! We have to stick together down there, and you can't be tripping each other or fighting or whatever stupid stuff you guys always do! It's dark, and someone could get hurt! So cut it out! Got it?" All three of the boys winced beneath Lenalee's commanding tone and nodded regretfully.

"Alright! Black Order Paranormal Squad- go!" Lavi said and charged down the stairs.

"Black Order Paranormal Squad?" Lenalee questioned quietly, and the other two just shook their head in embarrassment. It was going to be a long night.

"Lavi, wait up!"

* * *

"I didn't know it'd be so c-c-cold," Lavi said through chattering teeth. Allen really hadn't factored it in either, but he was freezing nonetheless. He didn't bother to change out of his school uniform, and it wasn't as if these clothes were particularly warm.

It'd only taken a total of five minutes for Lenalee decided that it'd be best if they split up, because if she had to listen to Kanda and Allen's constant bickering one of them would end up dead.

"See, look through this thermal camera I brought. The air is all white and blue, which means there's not even a pinch of warmth. Except when I point it at the pipes its purple, 'cause the water inside is a little warmer than everything else."

"So whats that then?" Allen placed a gloved finger on the tiny screen, pointing at a small smudge of red and yellow down the hall where Lavi pointed the camera. It was low to the ground, and surrounded by the white and blue colored room.

"That would be," his voice was shaking, "an unidentified heat source. An anomaly. _A ghost_!"

Lavi gave out a not so masculine cry, dropped the camera, and ran off in the opposite direction without giving Allen a second glance. _He's really that afraid of a dot on a screen? And he took my flashlight? Maybe I should've gone with Lenalee._

"W-wait! Lavi!" His words fell on deaf ears, and instead of trying to chase after the already spooked boy, he picked up the camera. Luckily for him it wasn't broken. When he looked through the grainy resolution, the strange elongated orb of red and orange was still in the same position.

"Idiot, it's probably just a camera malfunction," Allen mumbled, but wasn't too convinced himself. Everything he'd seen earlier today was enough reason to believe that there was something down here.

Allen switched on the flash built into the camera, which probably wasn't intended to be used as a flashlight, but whatever. He didn't see anything in particular; all the dust that was stirred up from newcomers so deep in the now unused catacombs fogged up the air. The ceilings were rather low and there rusted pipes and electrical wires exposed everywhere, meaning it was a goldmine for trips, bumps, and dings for the careless traveler. _  
_

_Where are Kanda and Lenalee?_

In retrospect, he decided that they should've come up with some way to alert each other. Allen didn't have any of their cell numbers, but the other three probably did. Which meant he would've been fine if Lavi hadn't cried bloody-murder and run off to god knows where. _Might as well have a look around._

With a defeated sigh, he peered through the camera again, but this time switched it from "Thermal" view to "Night Vision" view. Instead of a brightly colored picture of the dirty hallway, it distorted for a moment and then flipped to a grainy, green hued view of the hall. It exposed a door branching off into the old laundry room, which Lavi told him was down this way somewhere earlier. However, the resolution was too low for him to even tell what was at the same spot where the strange anomaly was earlier on the thermal vision. He considered trekking back to the service room, where they were all supposed to meet in case of an emergency. It should be a left, left, and a right from behind him. Or was it left, right, left?

"Al-len."

Allen jumped and waved his flashlight in a circle all around him, but saw nothing.

"Al-len."

"L-Lavi? Lenalee? Kanda?" He whispered, wondering if one of them was trying to trick him. But the crawling sensation beneath his skin, the same one from the classroom and the lunchroom, returned with full force.

"Very funny, you guys," he said haughtily as he continued to walk down the hall.

_I can't get scared. This is what I came here to do, right? Find proof that I'm not crazy._

"Al-len?" It was an innocent voice, one he could easily match up with the figure of the little girl he saw in the cafeteria. The voice seemed to have trouble pronouncing his name, stuttering between the two syllables.

"Yes? Who is it?" He said as calmly as he could. He looked all around again, and even above him this time, but there was no source for the voice. His hair was standing up on the back of his neck, and he had goosebumps everywhere, but he steeled his nerves against his fear. He'd been through worse, _much worse_, and besides, this ghost seemed nice if anything else. The only thing he could do was make the best out of this situation.

"I can't," the voice stopped mid-sentence.

"Are you okay?" He asked, concerned. What if someone was trapped and lost down here? The only place on this dead-end hall someone could be trapped would be the old laundry room.

"I'm coming to find you, okay? Can you tell me where you are?"

When he didn't get a response, he headed down the hall toward the other room. Out of curiosity's sake, he turned his camera back on and flipped it back to the "Thermal" setting and looked down the hall once more. The strange orb of color that had once been there, was now gone.

He quickly turned the camera flash back on when he heard a bang in the giant, empty laundry room and stepped in. It was littered with dirty rags, towels, broken washers and dryers, and all kinds of strange metal equipment. But there was no sign of anyone. _Must have been a rat._

"Hello? Are you okay?" _God, maybe he was hearing things. _He should probably just go find out where Lavi ran off to.

Before he could leave, there was a sharp tug on the back of his shirt. He spun around in fear to find the source of the touch, but again was only met with the silence of the room._ Nothing._

"I can't find my daddy!" The tug was from the other side of him now, from outside of the room instead of inside the room. He yelped and twirled around, and almost cried out louder when he met the face of a crying little girl. She was tugging on the side of his shirt while letting out loud wails and wiping snot from her nose.

His heartbeat wouldn't slow down enough to answer, and he felt so dizzy that his legs might give out; _was this really just fear? What the hell is going on?!_

"Where, I mean, who, no- what happened?" He finally said frantically, bending down to her height. He tried to calm down and delicately patted her soft hair, almost believing that his hand would go right through her. But it didn't; she was solid and real by the standard definition.

"I just wanted to see daddy again, and I got lost." She sniveled and buried herself in his chest. _Why does that sound familiar? Did I-_

Suddenly his train of thought came to a dead halt. _Did I what_? He was getting a strange sense of deja vu, or something he'd long forgotten was being stirred up. _What's so familiar about this?_

She suddenly started crying louder, and he shook himself out of his daze. He tried to calm down her sobs by rubbing her back and wiped the tears off her cheeks. When he finally got a good look at her, he felt sick to his stomach; she looked like the little girl from earlier today, in the cafeteria.

"Let's go find my friend, Lenalee, okay?" He said while smiling brightly. She tried to match his smile and wiped the rest of the tears away with her own tiny fingers. He shakily stood back up and grabbed her hand, looking out into the hopeless abyss to find a way out.

They started walking toward what Allen hoped was the service room, and he tried not to lose his grip on reality as her questions sounded more and more vague.

"It sure is dark down here."

"Mmm, yep, it is. What were you doing down here anyway?" Allen questioned, braving his best optimistic tone._ How did she survive down here, or worse, how long has she been down here? A couple hours, maybe? Were there people looking for her?_

"Looking for Daddy."

"Daddy?" Allen repeated in confusion.

"He died, and now I have to find him. Mommy won't stop crying, and now my brother won't either. So I have to find him, so we can all be happy again!" She sounded so sure of herself, so innocent and pure. Allen felt like he was having an out-of-body experience, a dream, no, a nightmare. _This can't be real. Dead?_

"He died?" Allen whispered, and looked back down at the little girl. Suddenly a flashlight blinded him followed by several Japanese swears.

"Oi! Assholes! Moyashi! Usagi! "

"If they won't answer to English, what makes you think they'll hear you if you speak in Japanese?" _Lenalee! Kanda!_

"Kanda, over here!" Allen yelled. For the first time in his life, he was happy to see Kanda.

The girl beside him whimpered, and he whispered, "Don't worry, they'll help us out of here. They're both- err, Lenalee is really nice!"

"Allen? Who are you talking to? Where's Lavi?" Lenalee said nervously.

"I told you I heard him screaming over in the tunnels to the east. How the hell did you end up on the other side of the underground grid, idiot? It's physically impossible for you to be over here if you were following Lavi!" Kanda yelled angrily.

The little girl started crying again when Kanda's harsh voice scared her. "Kanda, you're scaring her," Allen said sternly.

"Do you hear that? It sounds like someone's crying," Lenalee said quietly. Allen looked at them both, and then back at the little girl.

"Can you not see her?" He was seriously concerned for his own mental health. This time Kanda and Lenalee looked surprised, although Lenalee was catching on quicker than Kanda.

"See what?" Kanda said, unamused. He was on edge instead of being afraid; did he not know what fear was?

"The little girl! The one I'm holding hands with!" He replied fiercely.

"It's okay Allen. They can't see me."

"Who was that?" Kanda said while stepping back from Allen and getting into what looked like a fighting stance.

"Allen, I don't like this," Lenalee whispered, but still brought her hand out towards where she assumed the girl would be.

"Where's she standing?"

"Right here," he said, and guided her hand until it was placed softly on the little girls head.

"I can't feel anything!" She said and fell to the ground crying.

"What can I do to help you?" Allen asked, completely defeated._ Why is everyone crying? What did I do?!_

"Daddy's gone. Mommy won't accept it. She's gone, too."

"Your mother died?" Lenalee said quietly through her tears. "Allen, who is she?"

He shook his head in ignorance; he had no idea.

"Everyone's gone. Except Allen. You'll stay with me and help me find Daddy, right? Mommy's with him. I saw you today at school, Allen, but you looked scared of me."

"This is why you asked if there was a ghost," Kanda mumbled while shining his flashlight down the other halls, hoping to see Lavi. He wasn't disturbed at all.

"Allen," Lenalee said quietly.

"What?"

"Tapp had a daughter," she said before breaking out into sobs.

Allen looked over at Lenalee regretfully, who was still collapsed crying. Apparently ghosts can stir up their own emotions within you, or so Lavi said when he was pretending to be an extreme ghost hunter. The little girl looked so happy to be heard, and it was breaking his heart to know that she was long since dead.

"Allen can't stay with you. Well, he can; I don't really care. You're dead. Let's get going, Lenalee," Kanda said sternly and started to walk away with his loud boots echoing through the halls.

"Do you not have a heart Kanda?" Allen snapped back at Kanda.

"Allen's…. leaving?"

"Allen, I know you want to help, but we're messing with something way beyond our control. We can ask Komui to look into it, and-" Lenalee was suddenly cut off by a much deeper, harsher tone.

"Allen is not leaving." The ghost's hand in his became a vicegrip of sharp blades.

"What's going on?" Lenalee said nervously. _Lenalee can't see what's going on; she doesn't have any idea whats happening!_

"I hate these people! They're trying to make you abandon me!" Suddenly her grip dissolved, and so did the girl herself.

"Run!" Kanda yelled.

Kanda swiftly came to Lenalee's aid and picked her up, since she was much too slow on crutches. Allen was a shaky mess when he picked himself up off the ground, but he couldn't afford to get lost and chased after Kanda.

"Allen's going to die down here with me! It's not my fault I didn't know what was going to happen if I tried to see daddy again! It's not my fault I just don't want to be alone!" The words eventually were swallowed in the sounds of raining bullets and loud bangs. _What is she talking about?!_

"Are those bullets?" Allen yelled as he heard the loud ricochets throughout the halls.

He looked back to see no longer the girl, but a sphere shaped monster created mainly out of guns and other weapons took her place. In the center of it was a masked, crying face, but he still knew that unmistakable purple aura that hid behind the machine was the same ghost as before. He felt frozen in horror;_ what the hell was going on?_ Every question he asked seemed to go unanswered and he decided his only option was to run faster.

"You've done it now, bean sprout!" Kanda said as they ran along each other.

"What did I do? I definitely didn't ask for this to happen! Where's Lavi?" Allen had trouble talking while trying to avoid getting hit. A bullet scuffed his shoulder or hip here and there, causing him to quicken his pace with each slip up.

"You're the idiot who suggested we come down here in the first place! Just forget him! We aren't going to be able to outrun this thing if we try to search through this maze!"

Allen stopped at the crossroads between the hallway that led up the stairs and the one that led into the west wing, where Lavi had originally run off to.

"Take Lenalee and go," Allen said sternly.

"Allen, what do you think you're doing?! Kanda, don't-" She was in hysterics and trying to kick her way out of Kanda's arms.

"Don't die," were the last two words Kanda said before hitting the ground running.

* * *

**Thank you for all the nice reviews and input! And I know I just said in the last chapter that I hate to spoil surprises, but this is probably going to end up being Yullen. (I'm not really worried about relationships right now). Well, leave me a review on what you think!**


	3. Tea

**You reviewers are really, really amazing and give me the strength to stay up till 2 am writing :) enjoy!**

* * *

"Don't Die."

No matter how hard he tried to catch his breath, Allen couldn't seem to stop hyperventilating. His short and choppy breaths might have been more out of fear than exhaustion, but he definitely knew he was getting weaker and weaker the more time he spent in this claustrophobic basement. This game of hide and seek he'd been playing with the ghost, meaning him running as fast as he could till the thing lost sight of him and started shooting aimlessly, was definitely wearing him out. _Where the hell are you, Lavi?!_

The monster was sobbing instead of screaming now, sure that Allen had forsaken her. Suddenly, in a room down the hall, he saw a flicker of light. On and off, almost like a switch. _Could that be Lavi's, well, my stolen, flashlight?_ He made a dash for the door, luckily unseen, and looked around inside. Maybe he was just seeing things; but it was so dark in the basement that lights seemed ten times brighter than usual. Reality wasn't really working out for him tonight, anyway.

However, there was another flash of the light that cut through the darkness, and this time he noticed that from behind a metal cart, a certain red-head was doing a horrible job at hiding. Lavi was hitting the bottom of the flashlight with the palm of his hand, and it flashed a burst of light before going out again. He tapped it on the floor: same thing.

Allen felt relieved to have finally found the idiot, but still a little irked that Lavi abandoned him. He quietly came over to his hiding spot from behind and nudged Lavi while whispering _boo_ in his ear. This was immediately followed by Allen covering Lavi's mouth with his hand to prevent Lavi's shriek from shaking the entire building.

Allen hissed out an expletive when Lavi bit his hand to free himself and bluntly said, "What the hell, Allen! What _the actual_ hell is going on? Because all I know is that a giant robot ghost is screaming your name and trying to kill us! Where's Kanda? Or Lenalee?"

"Kanda took care of Lenalee," Allen whispered back; that's about the only answer he had. It only took Lavi a couple of seconds to process the information until he figured out what happened.

"Yuu left me for DEAD?!" He shouted in despair. The ghost snapped back into action, yelling and showering bullets when it discovered their hiding place.

"Shit, move Lavi! Go!" Allen yelled. Lavi didn't even wait for Allen to say anything before sprinting down the next long hallway. He skidded as he rounded the corner and narrowly dodged bullets heading straight toward him, Allen following close behind.

"We're so dead!" Allen yelled as he felt heat on the back of his heels.

"Only two more hallways and one turn and were home free!" Lavi said excitedly, as if their chances of escaping had gotten so much higher since the machine discovered them._ We're losing ground, _Allen thought_, it's only a couple of seconds before we're both dead._

"Go, Lavi, I'll distract it! It's only after me!" Allen yelled and stopped running.

"A-Allen?" Lavi said, but he didn't stop. It was nice knowing you.

"Don't argue with me Lavi, just get out of here!"

"Promise me I'll see you again!" Lavi said fiercely.

Allen looked back at Lavi and mustered up his best smile, and when Lavi realized he wasn't going to get the answer he wanted, he eventually ran off without another word. The last look in Lavi's eyes, of desperation to save both of them, anger at the monster, and affection for his forsaken friend, was enough for Allen to accept what was going to happen.

_As long as they're safe, everything is fine. It's all my fault, really. I'm just glad no one got hurt. It was sort of nice to have friends._

"Die!"

* * *

"And you LEFT him?"_ Lenalee?_

"What was I supposed to do? Let us both get killed?"_ Lavi?_

"I asked him to do one simple thing, and he couldn't even do that. Pathetic." _Definitely Kanda._

He groaned and tried to sit up but was in too much pain to move, much less greet them.

"Allen!" Lavi and Lenalee said at the same time and rushed over to him.

"Where am I?"

"My dorm. Luckily I live alone, so we don't have to explain this mess to anyone," Lavi mused. Allen looked at the state the four of them were in and realized this would take a pretty elaborate excuse. The bullets clipped his clothes and skin and he instinctively looked down at his arm. His left glove was dirty and had a smudge of blood on it, but other than that he'd completely missed getting hurt on his left half. He looked over at Lenalee and Lavi, who were in a better condition, except they both had similar puffy faces. Even though their eyes were worn with tears, they still looked full of happiness. With a sigh of relief, he took a sip of the glass Lavi handed him- and immediately spat it right back out.

"What the hell, Lavi! This is alcohol!" Lavi took the glass from him in confusion and took a sip or two before looking lost in thought. Then he finally agreed that it actually was.

"Lavi drinks so much he can't tell the difference anymore," Lenalee said while laughing.

"Is that really such a bad thing?" Lavi replied while winking as he downed the rest of the glass.

"What happened? I mean, how am I alive?" _All I can remember is the flash of those bullets after I told Lavi to escape._

Lenalee's laughter dissolved and she started a long-winded explanation."Well, when Lavi came up alone, we knew something was wrong. Lavi was practically crying-"

"Was not!"

"At any rate, we gave it a couple of minutes, and you still didn't come."

"Who was crying now, Lenalee?" She glared over at him while hiding a blush.

"Next thing we knew Kanda was gone! So we assumed he went home, which was even worse!"

Them both telling different pieces of the story was starting to get really confusing. After a lot of dispute over the details that happened next, Lenalee finally continued, "Yep, so Kanda just stomped right back up the stairs with your unconscious body. Wouldn't tell us what happened."

"And then dropped he 'ya on the floor," Lavi added smugly. _No wonder my head hurts so much._ He heard Kanda make a noise of annoyance in the other room.

"When we finally got him to talk, he said the ghost, or whatever it was, was in pieces, like someone had cleanly sliced it. And that you were passed out and all shot up."

"We thought you were dead, man!" _The ghost was destroyed? Just like that?_

"Wait. Kanda saved me?" Allen asked in disbelief.

"He only went cause Lenalee kept threatening to crawl down those stairs after you. Meanwhile, he wouldn't lift a finger for me!"

"He thought you already ran outside, Lavi!" Lenalee countered in embarrassment._ This was a horribly organized idea, now that I think about it. I mean, honestly, why'd I think this would turn out well?_

"Don't get any ideas like I want to befriend you, idiot. You and your hero complex are going to get you killed, probably everyone involved, and I want nothing to do with your ridiculous stunts. In fact, I want nothing to do with you," Kanda said as he appeared out of nowhere.

"Message received," Allen said bitterly, but then added, "Thanks anyway. I owe you one."

"You owe me more than one. We all almost died because of you!" Kanda was angrier than Allen had ever seen him, of course, under the circumstances, it only seemed natural. Was there any other side to him other than this angry facade he always had up?

"We all decided to go down there together, Kanda, you know that. You can't blame Allen!" Lavi replied trying to protect Allen.

"Tch. What about you talking to the ghost? What the hell was that?"_ He's shaking; Kanda's only angry because he was scared for his life down there. He may be cool under pressure, but all that stress has to go somewhere. _

"I thought she was real, I mean, I didn't know she was a ghost until she attacked us," he said quietly. He'd been able to hold her hand, after all.

"Delusional _and_ pathetic." Kanda stalked off into Lavi's tiny kitchen, as if he had to get as far away from Allen as possible.

"Don't listen to him, Allen. It was obvious there was a ghost there. You must have some amazing sixth sense! Maybe this was a good thing after all; you found out something about yourself!" Lenalee was trying her best to cheer him up, but it was useless. He felt a strange mix of regret and confusion stir in his head.

"What time is it?" Allen said, trying to change the subject. He stood up and stretched his sore muscles like a cat, accidentally knocking the camera he'd had with him onto the floor.

"What?! You still have the camera?!" Lavi raced over to pick it up, and pressed the power button to see if it would work.

"There's a small crack in the corner of the screen, but other than that, it's fine," Lavi murmured while fooling with it. Suddenly there was a beep, and Allen could hear his own voice talking. Along with the little girl's dejected tone as she talked about her daddy.

Lavi's face paled as he watched the footage, which was only a black screen, but the audio was what mattered;_ I__ left the camera on in my pocket the whole time._

"Is that voice," his voice was only above a whisper, "the girl? The thing that was chasing us?"

"I remember hearing it, right before she attacked us. That's the same voice," Lenalee confirmed.

"Wait, fast-forward Lavi! Maybe we can figure out what happened after I passed out!" Allen said in excitement and stood up to look over his shoulder.

"Even a blank screen will give us more answers than Kanda," Allen mumbled. From the loud slam in the miniature kitchen, he assumed Kanda heard him.

_"Die!"_

_The sound of bullets._

_And then silence._

They all sat in the quiet dorm room, straining to hear something, anything, that would help them figure out what happened.

"Man, Allen, if I didn't know any better I'd assume you were dead right now," Lavi gulped as the silence continued.

"Shhhhhh! I hear something!" Lenalee said in fear more than excitement.

There was muffled talking, but no matter how hard they strained to hear they couldn't make it out quite yet. _Is that Kanda's voice? Who's he talking to?_

Kanda stomped out of the kitchen, took the camera from Lavi, and smashed it on the ground.

"What the hell, Kanda! We were just getting to the good part!" Lavi yelled.

"What do you idiots think you're messing with?! This isn't some game; we all almost died, don't you get it? Don't push your luck!" Allen looked over at Kanda and realized_, he's hiding something._

He decided not to anger Kanda further by asking and merely said, "It's only eleven. I think I'm going to head home and try to get some of my homework done."

"You're thinking about homework at a time like this?!" Lavi yelled out in disbelief. Allen just gave an oblivious smile and headed for the door.

"I'm sorry for endangering you all, and almost getting you killed, and-"

"It's okay, Allen. It really isn't your fault. Be safe," Lenalee said before he could continue. Lavi gave a wave, and Kanda turned his head in disgust.

* * *

The streets, well, _the entire neighborhood_ around his house was sketchy, but he knew how to get around to avoid the hotspots. Hotspots being where creeps hung out and tried to jump you.

He fumbled with the lock, and then got on his tip-toes to unlock deadbolt above until he was finally able to quietly slip in. _Please don't be awake, please don't be awake, please don't be-_

"Where the hell have 'ya been?"_ And he's awake._

Allen didn't answer; he knew Cross was too drunk to even try to reason with from the way his speech slurred. The man was sprawled out on the couch with an empty wine bottle in one hand and a cigarette in the other. The TV was on, blaring some awards show Allen had once again forgotten to watch. _In his line of work, you'd expect him to be a little more conservative._

Believe it or not, probably not, Cross was an avid preacher at a little church down the street a ways. Allen might've gone to a handful of sermons, but knowing the man behind the stuffy black robes and clerical collar just left a bitter taste in his mouth. Still, a lot of people believed in him and tipped generously; he'd almost started a pure and just cult in this immoral part of town. The irony almost hurt Allen's lungs in exasperation, especially when he brought some of his saved sinners home for the night.

First things first: Allen wanted something to eat. He went over to the fridge, which was across the living room, and swerved around the island that separated the two rooms. Cross cursed at him when he walked in front of the TV but Allen only rolled his eyes and continued on his mission.

Much to his dismay, the fridge only had booze and, well, more booze. He rested his head on the metallic surface of the now closed fridge in defeat; why was he so hungry and weak? He easily got hungry, but never this bad.

"Why don't we have any food," Allen whined, at no one in particular, as he felt his stomach grumble.

"I've got a couple of jobs I need you to do tonight," was Cross's only answer. _Ignore your poor child left under your care to starve to death, fine._

"It's already twelve!" Allen protested while hunting through the kitchen for food.

When he opted for some cereal out of the pantry, Cross continued, "If you'd come home on time, it wouldn't _be_ twelve, now would it?"

"I'm pretty sure I know how time works." The second the words left his mouth he felt a whoosh of air and glass shattered against the cabinet beside his head. Allen's ears were ringing from the sudden outburst, and he glared angrily over at Cross. _I'm not cleaning that up._

"Don't smart off to me!" _What if he hadn't meant to miss?_

"I'll take care of the debts tomorrow," Allen grumbled back in response. He didn't even need to know the jobs to know that Cross just owed someone. He was way too tired to be putting up with this temper tantrum, anyway.

Cross suddenly rose from the couch and sauntered over to where Allen was standing. He slammed his hand on the counter before blowing smoke in Allen's face and replying, "What did I just fucking say about smarting off to me?" _Not good; Cross is in one of his violent moods._

Once Allen stopped coughing, he opened his mouth to reply, but Cross slapped him so hard he fell backward against the counter.

"You don't have to be so violent, damn it! I said I'd take care of it!" Allen yelled back as he held his swollen cheek. They usually got along pretty well, but something about this town left Cross perpetually pissed off. Allen thought it was maybe just the pain of having to move somewhere else. Things were really starting to get out of hand, though, and neither of them were trying to fix it.

"You have no right to disrespect me!" He yelled and shoved Allen back against the cabinet. When his head collided into the wood, Allen's only response was calling him a bastard which apparently gave Cross the excuse to take out all his anger.

_He must've had a bad day,_ Allen grimaced, as Cross's fist smashed him in the eye.

_Must've lost a bet, owed someone too much money, broken up with a lover,_ he assumed, when he was hurled to the ground.

_Couldn't have been worse than mine,_ he pondered, when Cross drove his boot right into Allen's stomach.

_Couldn't have been worse than mine,_ he agreed, when he heard Cross scoff and walk off.

"Pathetic."

* * *

It only took thirty minutes or so until he pulled himself up off the floor and took care of the odd jobs Cross had for him. Although it was four in the morning when he got home, he managed to shower and get his homework done before his alarm went off.

_Three… two… one…_

A mix between a bird falling out of it's nest and a fire alarm resounded throughout his room. He wearily looked at the numbers, 6:01, and considering turning it off or just hitting snooze. Not because he wanted more sleep, of course, but because if he hit snooze, in about an hour or so it would go off and Cross would be forced to get up to turn it off._ It was the small victories that count,_ he thought while smiling devilishly.

"Turn that damn thing off!" Cross yelled from down the hall. Allen grinned, hit snooze, and headed out the door.

Sometimes, after they got in huge arguments, Cross would wake up early and make him his best attempt at breakfast. They'd make small talk about what actually happens in school, and he'd send Allen on his way before slipping into a hangover induced coma. This was not one of those mornings.

He was walking to school and felt completely hollow inside; maybe that ghost sucked the life right out of him. His face was a mixture of a brain-dead hospital patient and an angry old man. And now here he was, waiting for the cross walk sign to turn green so he could inch closer to his haunted school.

"Rough night?" Allen almost didn't register that someone was talking to him, until he realized that no one answered the question.

"Me?" He asked hoarsely and looked over to see someone else waiting patiently for the light to change.

The man looked older, maybe in his twenties, and was holding a cup of coffee. His hair was neatly tied back, although a few of the blackened locks fell forward. He had eyes so peculiar Allen almost wanted to question if he wore contacts or not to change them into that golden, honeyed-over color, but decided against it. _Wait, what did he ask me again?_

When Allen's brain wouldn't move fast enough to try to remember what he said, the man simply responded, "I'll take that as a yes. Coffee?"

Allen looked at him again; what was familiar about him? He definitely didn't know him by name, or even by his face, but his clothes looked familiar. Wait a second.

"Do you go to my school?" _Of course he does Allen, that's the same uniform you're wearing._ Wait, he's young enough to still be in high school?

"A little slow this morning, aren't we?" Allen didn't feel like bothering to come up with a witty answer. All he had to do was make it through the day and then he could fall into a blissful nap; this was only a small roadblock.

"Yeah," Allen muttered. _Maybe he'll leave me alone if I'm cold enough. I'm still not good at handling everyday conversations, am I?_ On the contrary, the man was giving him an even stranger look, not looking at his eyes, but rather his face. It was a mix of mild concern and amusement._ Is there something on my face?_

"It's not a tattoo, it's a scar. Yes, my hair is naturally this color. No, I didn't bother brushing it this morning. And, no, I do not worship Satan," Allen said surly as he went through his mental checklist of frequently asked questions.

"My, my. I'm sorry to have upset you, I was just going to say a sour attitude like that doesn't belong on a sweet face like yours," he replied. Allen suddenly snapped out of his exhaustion induced trance and felt guilty for is spitefulness to a complete stranger.

His voice changed from the sarcastic tone he had earlier, and instead he pulled out an innocent apology. "No, no, I'm sorry. That was uncalled for, I just didn't get any sleep, and my-"

"You shouldn't have to excuse yourself. I was obviously imposing and would've reacted quite the same. Here," he handed Allen his coffee, "you're going to need this to make it through the day. Let's just start over, shall we?" This almost felt like a contest to see who could out-gentleman the other. And Allen was definitely losing this morning.

He looked around and suddenly realized they were already at school. The man held out his hand and gave a warm smile before introducing himself.

"I'm Tyki Mikk. And you are?"

Allen met his hand and replied, "Allen Walker."

"Well, Mister Allen Walker, I do hope you have a better day. Adieu." With a faux bow, he headed off toward the northern building.

Allen took a sip of the coffee, only to realize it was tea.

* * *

The second he stepped in the school building he got more stares than usual.

"Hey, Allen! What's u-" Lavi stopped mid-sentence when he saw him from across the hall.

"What?" Allen asked boredly.

"Have you looked in a mirror, man?" Lavi said, horrified.

"Oh, yeah, my bedhead can get pretty bad sometimes, but-"

"No! Your eye!" _What?_

Suddenly Lenalee appeared from behind Lavi and joined in on the fawning over Allen, and he blinked in confused until they dragged him off to the bathroom.

"Holy," was his only response when he looked back at his own horrible reflection.

"Shit." Lavi finished for him.

It looked as if someone rubbed dirt under his eyes, which he presumed might have been black circles from a lack of sleep. He'd never slept well and always had the slight darkening beneath his eyes, but these were much worse. That wasn't the real problem, however; his entire right eye was bruised and bloody and blackened. He'd remembered it hurting in the shower this morning, but didn't give it a second thought._ Damn you, Cross._

"Did the ghost do that?" Lavi said as he poked at his eye. Allen swatted his hand away and then brought his face up close to the mirror for a better inspection. This was no ghost.

"Must've been," he said nervously, and tried poking it himself. He winced in pain at the slightest touch.

He heard rustling and saw Lenalee digging through her purse until she pulled out a bottle of tan liquid.

* * *

**Well that wasn't exactly all that cheerful. I'd like to say the next chapter will be happy and full of love and romance and puppies and kittens, but….**

**...aaaat any rate, don't be getting strange ideas about Tyki and Allen! Just wait until next chapter before you go assumin' things! I swear I'll start explaining things, too! Actually, no, it'll probably just get more confusing.**

**Until next update!**


	4. Night

"Hey, it hasn't rubbed off yet!" Lenalee said happily at lunch. Allen gave a weak nod while he tried to stomach some food. It was a strange turn of events for him not to be able to eat.

"What hasn't rubbed off?" Kanda asked while picking at his food. _Kanda's actually talking today,_ Allen thought.

"That ghost ended up giving poor Allen over here a nasty black eye," Lavi said through a mouthful of food.

"That's impossible. It was shooting bullets," Kanda said as he glared over at Allen. Suddenly that clicked in Lavi and Lenalee's heads and they realized that Kanda was right. They looked over at Allen for an explanation.

"It's not like we were all that graceful with our escape, besides, who knows what happened to Allen all alone down there," Lavi replied when Allen couldn't seem to create an excuse fast enough. _Looks like it's time to change the subject: Operation Put the Blame on Kanda!_

"Speaking of last night, why'd you destroy that camera?" Allen asked as he tried to swallow down a bite from his sandwich.

Kanda almost choked on his food and gave Allen such a menacing look that he thought he might jump over the table and tackle him.

"Seriously Kanda, that was our only evidence!" Lavi whined.

"Evidence of what? You running away and crying for you mommy?" Kanda snapped back._ Everyone is so touchy today. _

"Stop it!" Lenalee yelled, but her attempt at creating order at the lunch table was in vain and both Kanda and Lavi started arguing and throwing things. Allen drifted off into a sleepy daze, looking off into the windows where he'd seen the little girl. _Wait, was someone looking at him?_

Upon closer inspection, he realized the man he met from before was staring right back at him, about to walk out the door. Huh. Allen smiled back and waved, and in response Tyki seemed to shake his head while smiling and left.

"Who 'ya waving at Allen?" Lavi asked when Lenalee finally made Kanda get off of him.

"Oh, this kid I met this morning. I was really rude to him because he kept staring at my face, but now I know why," Allen muttered. He'd blatantly worn a black eye for their entire conversation, but Tyki was too polite to say anything.

"What's his name?" Lenalee asked.

"Tyki. Doesn't he look a little old to be still going to school around here?"

Lenalee spit out her drink in surprise. Lavi dropped his spoon along with his jaw. Even Kanda, impervious, unshakable Kanda, looked over in surprise.

"Tyki Mikk? No, no, no, Allen. if there's one person you don't want to get mixed up with, it's him. He runs a drug ring, no, _the_ drug ring around this entire city!"

"I heard he was in the mafia, Lavi. Someone told me he murdered a student here in cold blood."

"Not only a murderer, but have you heard what happens at his parties?"

"What? He just gave me coffee- er, no tea. It wasn't a big deal," Allen said in surprise, trying to calm their growing accusations.

"Don't wave your hands and try to excuse yourself! He only talks to people for a reason, Allen. You could be in serious trouble!" Lavi said. Lavi did sound serious, but Tyki hadn't; this was probably just some rumor blown way out of proportion.

"I hope he skins you and hangs you over his fireplace," Kanda muttered. _Even Kanda's in on it?!_

"It was just a simple conversation at a stoplight!" Allen replied frantically.

"Well, it can't be helped now. Just be steer clear of him and be polite if you do run into him," Lenalee murmured.

"Can't seem to stay out of trouble, can you?" Lavi said while shaking his head.

"What did I do?" He asked miserably.

The bell rang, but Lenalee stopped Allen from running off and said, "I doubt anyone's told you this yet, but every student is required to join some sort of school sponsored club. At the end of the month there will be a club fair, which means you need to have made your mind up before then," she stopped and looked around suspiciously,"and I'm telling you this in advance because I needed to warn you._ Don't join a club with Lavi. _And if you just shirk this off, Komui will make you clean up campus for a couple of hours instead." She held out a clipboard with a couple of pages of names listed from top to bottom. _There are this many clubs?_

"Thank you, Lenalee, really. This is a big help," Allen said sweetly and began skimming through all the names.

* * *

A week or two went by, Allen usually measured it in makeup, and Cross had gotten more violent all of a sudden. There seemed to be spells in his "business" cycle that varied with his anger and alcohol consumption. He was aware Cross had a life outside of the church, but usually stayed away from anything to do with him. This town tore apart the little stability they'd created in the two or three years they'd strangely gotten to know each other.

Allen was laying in bed, trying and failing once again failing to sleep. He looked to his left and saw his same clock blatantly stating that it was already two in the morning, and he still hadn't gotten any sleep. He wrapped the covers tighter around him and sighed;_ this can't go on forever. Cross will go back to being irritating and out of the way. _

Suddenly his arm started throbbing, and he gasped in pain; it felt like his arm was being torn off. He regretfully emerged from beneath the covers and into the cold air of his room. When he pulled up his sleeve, nothing was wrong, but the pain was almost getting worse. His hand started burning soon after and he cursed and tried to shake out his hand. When neither the burning or pain stopped, he quickly jumped out of bed and ran over to the sink. While keeping his hand under the water, he opened the mirror cabinet and pulled out a handful of bottles. Sleep aid, painkiller, anxiety reducer, muscle relaxant. He dry swallowed the concoction of pills and then closed the mirror. _Is this really what it's come to_, he thought with a sigh and bent over to was his face off. The stinging was starting to go away, and his arm wasn't cramping any longer, so he took his hand out from under the water and looked back in the mirror.

For a split second, he saw a black figure, nothing more than a tall shadow behind him, but he still yelped and looked around. No one_. Side effects may include mild hallucinations_, he reminded himself before nervously climbing back into his warm bed.

Things were finally settling down at school after that awful basement catastrophe, and classes were easy no matter how advanced the teachers liked to call them. The only thing advanced about them was all the homework that came with it.

However, no matter how much he tried to avoid thinking about it, that little girl always came right back to haunt him at night. He'd always have nightmares, waking up screaming and crying and kicking and howling, but whatever scared him so bad he could never remember. For some reason, that ghost tugged at a memory he'd long forgotten, something long before he'd met Cross or even-

Thump.

Allen heard lots of noise coming from outside his room and lazily got out from under the covers, once again, to go see what the problem was now. _I'm never going to get any sleep,_ he thought miserably. With a loud sigh he flung open the door, only to find an empty hallway. But the noise grew louder as he continued down the hall.

_What the- _It only took a few footsteps closer to Cross's room to make out exactly what the banging noises were, along with all kinds of unpleasant gasps and groans. And he left the door open, too. Lovely. Allen felt himself about to puke and sped down the stairs and right out the front door.

The last time this had happened, Cross told Allen he wasn't going to bring girls home anymore. Not for Allen's sake, of course, merely just because he didn't like having them know where he lived._ Glad to see he's keeping his promises._

Bitter, angry, and disgusted, he decided to walk around a couple blocks even though he'd failed to get a jacket during his escape. Sweatpants and a thin long-sleeved t-shirt didn't exactly make for great below-freezing January night strolls, but he was too angry to care. At least he had his gloves.

After a couple of blocks, he stopped near a park. It wasn't particularly safe, and it was more of an acre of grass rather than a park, but he liked it there. Besides, he certainly could outrun whatever crazy drunk that showed up.

There was a flickering street lamp in an alleyway near the fence to the park; Allen surveyed the area for any creeps before he decided to walk in. The flickering light revealed something he couldn't quite make out in the alleyway right across from the park. _Better check it out._ Stealthily avoiding the light, he switched sides of the streets and peered over the corner of the building.

He winced when he saw the classic aftermath of someone being robbed on these streets. Blood, gore, and a victim left for dead. Allen had come across a dead body or two in his time living at this house, and merely called the police while heading home. But this person was definitely still alive, and he didn't look all that old, either._ Wait, he knew that hair. And that face._

"Kanda?!" Allen yelled and rushed to his side. Even tangled and soaked with blood, Kanda's hair was still unmistakable. It was out of its natural hair tie and instead showered his face in dark strands. Allen brushed it out of his face to see if his eyes were still open, and luckily enough, Kanda was still conscious.

He was in a crumpled heap on the ground, blood pooling around him and soaking through his clothes. From the way blood was spattered in different places in the alleyway, he assumed there'd been a confrontation, with Kanda as the obvious loser. Allen glanced around for any sign of the attacker, and a little ways down the alley he saw a black figure, getting smaller and smaller as it faded off into the night. He desperately wanted to run after him and kick the shit out of him, but Kanda's life was more important at this moment.

"Kanda?" Can you hear me?" Allen asked while brushing some of his hair away from his face.

Kanda's dimming eyes gave him a wide-eyed glance that Allen knew so well; the, _"what the hell are you doing here?"_, glare. He tried to mumble something but instead started spitting up blood on Allen.

Allen cursed as he lifted Kanda up off the ground and helped him walk; Kanda didn't even try to protest or ask where they were going. Allen just crossed his fingers and prayed that Cross had gone to bed.

Sure enough, as they were approaching the door, a scantily clad woman was holding her heels and storming down the street away from his house.

* * *

"Watch it!" Kanda hissed as Allen wiped disinfectant into his wound. After counting them all, he had three stab wounds in his abdomen, and, scientifically speaking, a million bruises forming.

"Do you want it to get infected or not?" Allen huffed and applied more pressure. There was blood all over Allen at this point; his gloves and shirt were drenched in red. Although not trained as a medical doctor, he had enough practice and supplies from his own endeavors with Cross to know how to make the bleeding stop.

"You look disgusting," Kanda commented as Allen wiped his face and ended up with more blood on it than he'd tried to wipe away. He realized his gloves were damp in the rich red blood and scowled a bit, knowing he couldn't take them off.

"And who's fault is that, exactly?" Allen yelled back. Kanda stayed quiet and watched him work. Allen muttered something about stitches, but the noise Kanda made after told him that it was not going to happen.

"Damnit!" Kanda cursed as Allen started wrapping another wound tightly.

"What the hell is all this noise?!" Allen's eyes widened while Kanda's changed from rage to confusion. Allen winced with each heavy step on the stairs, but didn't say anything and continued to wrap the wound.

There was a long period of silence when Cross reached the bottom of the stairs. Kanda was sitting on the island between the living room and kitchen, glaring back at the red-haired man who couldn't hide his pure dumbfounded expression. Kanda didn't have a shirt on, Allen was covered in blood, and Cross was left to try to figure out what was going on.

"So, is it a boy or a girl this time?" Cross said sleepily while pointing at Kanda. Allen couldn't help the embarrassment that flushed in his cheeks, however, Kanda failed to realize what Cross was implying and instead focused on the insult.

"Oh, that's it! Who the hell is this idiot?" Kanda tried to hop off the counter and try to get at Cross, but Allen held him back.

"You're gonna tear your wounds open, Kanda!" Cross paid no mind to the enraged boy and instead, stumbled over to the fridge. _He wasn't drunk enough if he could still walk to get another beer,_ Allen thought bitterly.

"Clean this shit up before I come back down," was the only thing he said before disappearing.

"Yeah, yeah," Allen mumbled as he went back to treating Kanda's wounds. There was a long period of unmistakable, awkward silence as Allen continued to wrap up his wounds.

"Are you training to be a doctor or something?" Kanda muttered while trying to avoid the uneasiness that lingered in the air. He looked down and watched Allen for a moment, who was trying his hardest not to put any more pressure on Kanda's abdomen than possible. His work was really clean, even if he wasn't.

"I just have some experience," Allen mumbled back bitterly. More silence.

"What were you doing out there, Kanda?" Allen finally asked.

"Doesn't concern you," he replied. That was a good attempt at a conversation.

"It does now," Allen replied as he took a step back to look at Kanda. All his wounds were properly treated and wrapped, and it was nice and neat. He'd gotten almost a little too good at this. Allen never realized Kanda had a tattoo, but the intricate marks were fascinating.

"Looking for something?"

"I like it. The tattoo, I mean. I didn't think they let you get them in America before you were eighteen?" Kanda gave him a look that meant he really should've known better than to ask.

Allen sighed when he realized that Kanda could glare all night long without blinking or saying a word; he wasn't going to get any answers. He walked upstairs to his closet, grabbing his warm jacket for Kanda and changing out of his bloodied shirt. Then he went into his personal bathroom, and checked behind the bathroom mirror. After scrambling through what felt like 20 incorrect, translucent orange bottles, he finally found his own personal painkillers and dropped two into his hand before sealing the lid and replacing it behind the mirror.

"Here," he said when he came back downstairs. Kanda looked surprised when the coat and pills were forced into his hands, and looked back at Allen after eyeing the medicine.

"Are you trying to drug me?" _Why does he have these_, Kanda wondered as he inspected the pills. They were prescription, not drugstore variety.

"Just take the medicine so I can help you walk home," Allen muttered as he started to clean up the blood staining the kitchen counter.

"Help me walk home? I'm twice as strong as you, even in this condition. And who's going to guide the lost little princess home after she drops me off?" He crossed his arms in defiance, but still felt a bit nervous as Allen's hands clenched.

"Listen here, arsehole. You won't tell me what's going on, and you haven't been truthful with me ever since the basement. I don't know who's following you, or what you did, but it's obviously not safe out there. Do you honestly think you're going to make it a block without collapsing? And on top of that, I live around here. I definitely know how to handle myself."

"Tch." Kanda averted his gaze from Allen and took the medicine.

"Here," Allen shoved the jacket toward Kanda again, "I'll meet you outside."

Kanda raised an eyebrow but didn't question Allen.

* * *

He sat out on the porch swing and silently looked out at the neighborhood. The dull street lamps were either flickering or giving out, and he could break his mother's back ten times over on the worn down sidewalk. The streets were barren and faded; everyone knew better than to park around this area. _Allen really lives here?_

He heard a door slam from inside the house; _what the hell was Allen doing?_ It was too cold outside to make him wait like this.

Kanda slipped on the warm jacket Allen gave him and instantly felt less irritable when his wounds were no longer open to the cold. The jacket smelled like pine trees and vanilla; what a strange combination. It was better than the scent of blood that still lingered on him, he readily decided.

"A 'friend' of yours? What the hell were you _actually_ doing out so late?" Kanda turned around in surprise; that was the man's voice from earlier. He looked around until he realized the window behind him was open, filtering out an argument between the occupants.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't sleep because you and _that girl_ were keeping me awake!" Kanda shook his head in disgust. _Parent of the Year Award goes to…._ The words coming out of Allen's mouth sounded artificial; there's no way Allen would actually be that vulgar.

Yet, the arguing continued until he heard the smashing of glass and an unmistakable thud of skin hitting skin._ Allen? _He stood up to go back inside and figure out what was going on; waiting outside like this was going to kill him with curiosity and worry. The sickening noises continued, and Kanda put his hand on the door handle.

"Damn it!" Allen swung open the door and Kanda quickly sidestepped his warpath as he slammed it shut right after him.

"What took you so long?" Kanda questioned, visibly annoyed._ I don't want to get involved in some brat's domestic problems. Just take me home already_. If he knew the way back, he'd be halfway home already.

"Come on, Kanda, let's just go," Allen snapped as he put an arm underneath Kanda's shoulder to help him walk.

Kanda pushed him away, and then grabbed his shoulders to force Allen to look at him.

"Answer me. What was all that noise?"

"What was what?"

"Don't do that!"

"Do what?" _It's like this kid is begging to get decked._

Don't try to play innocent with me! And don't you dare lie to me," Kanda snarled back and thrust him back against the door.

"How about you stop lying, Kanda! I know there's something going on that you won't tell your friends, much less me, but you knew something about that ghost! And whatever happened in that basement, you knew!_ What are you hiding?_"

"It's none of your damn business, bean sprout," Kanda yelled and raised his fist. It was in that moment that Kanda realized exactly what he hated about Allen; it was those eyes. Never once had Allen been afraid of Kanda, even now, his eyes held a fierceness and determination he would never understand. There was a depth that almost made him feel faraway; Allen had a strange air of politeness that held in a quite different person.

He hadn't the slightest clue as to who he was looking at.

"Do it," Allen spat back as Kanda held him against the door.

He looked over at his tightened fist and then realized he was no different from the man on the other side of the wall; _what did Allen do to deserve this?_ He lowered his hand and let go of Allen, who didn't question Kanda's behavior and instead silently supported him as they walked.

It was a dark and quiet walk; they weren't exactly the best of friends, after all.

"Why do you put up with that?" Kanda finally mumbled. He felt Allen shift uncomfortably beneath him. He's pretty strong for being so small. However, Allen was absent-mindedly grasping his left arm and almost looked like he was in pain.

"We just got into an argument, it's not a big deal. Anyone would be mad if they brought a stranger into their house in the middle of the night," Allen responded. He sounded much more sarcastic than sincere and held his arm even tighter.

"I guess I shouldn't expect anything less than forgiveness from a preacher's son."

Allen stopped walking and looked up at Kanda incredulously. Before he could ask, Kanda answered his question.

"I noticed his outfit laid out on the couch. Is that why he took you in? Were you just a poor sinner who carved the devil's mark into your own face? Or was that him?"

"Kanda," Allen sounded as if he was chiding a child while he tried to keep his anger in check, "would you please just leave me alone? Whatever you think is going on between me and Cross isn't true. So just stay out of my business."

"You call your father by his first name?"

"Not my father," Allen mumbled back. Kanda silently mulled over the fact that Allen's personality was a complete flip from earlier, and then when he eventually came to terms with the fact that it was mostly his fault, he felt a little guilty._ Maybe I should just tell him that he left the window open, so he'd stop lying to me. But then again, that'll only embarrass him more._ Damn it.

"Which way from here?" Allen asked as they stood in front of the campus.

"Don't worry about it. I can make it from here," Kanda replied and tried to pull himself away from Allen's shoulder. The second he tried to walk forward, however, he almost collapsed in pain.

Allen caught him by the arm and then sighed. "Kanda, let's just get back to your dorm as quickly as possible so I'll be out of your hair. Deal?"

An even more uneasy silence followed as they navigated across the courtyard, up two flights of stairs, and eventually winding their way back to Kanda's room.

"Are you going to go to the nurse tomorrow?" _No._

"Do you know how to take care of those wounds?"

"I know how a band-aid works, bean sprout." He watched Allen do it and it looked easy enough. Disinfectant, Gauze, Tape. Repeat.

"Goodnight then, Kanda," Allen said as he walked off. Kanda didn't bother to reply and tried to slam his door shut, but stopped short and winced.

"Wait."

Allen turned around and looked over at the cracked door.

"Thanks."

The door slammed shut, and Allen's frown softened a little as he turned around to start his long walk home.

* * *

Kanda was exhausted, and only slipped out of his shoes before collapsing onto his bed. Luckily his phone hadn't broken, and he fished around in his pocket to check it. Two voicemails, five missed calls, and a handful of texts. He wasn't exactly known for being one to pick up the phone.

He tossed it aside and didn't even bother looking at any of the messages before slipping under the covers. People would expect a long explanation tomorrow and he'd be out of commission for a while;_ Damn it._

It grew quiet and peaceful, but he couldn't sleep; the long walk hadn't exactly been easy, and whatever the bean sprout gave him was wearing off. He closed his eyes again.

_What was that smell?_

He suddenly remembered that he'd forgotten to give Allen's jacket back, and that same smell of bittersweet fresh pine and warm vanilla lingered over him. But most of all, it smelled like Allen.

* * *

**What the heck is Kanda up to? And Tyki? And Cross, while I'm at it?**

**I wasn't planning on updating, but hey, there was a snow day today! After a near death experience yesterday, (my mustang slid on a patch of ice; I was doing 360 spins in the middle of the road. but I didn't hit anyone or crash! Just terrifying, that all; also a good experience to put into a story… hm….), I decided to write all night. Enjoy!**

**Another thank you to people who've been reviewing. I love you all a whole, whole lot, and you guys speed up my writing process by a couple days. Till next update :)**


	5. Roof

"Allen?"

It was beginning to become blindingly obvious; Allen wasn't eating, or sleeping, or talking. All he did was homework, put on a brave face for Lenalee and Lavi, and do whatever Cross asked of him. He furiously scribbled all the numbers down and then started solving for X. After a couple of minutes of not being able to reach an actual answer, he looked back at the book and realized he'd copied most of the problem down wrong, and couple of the numbers he'd written were backwards.

"Damn it," Allen mumbled while scraping away at his paper with an eraser. This was the third time in a row; his eyes just couldn't seem to focus and he was starting to get beyond the point of frustrated.

"You forgot, didn't you?"

He looked up from his textbook; Lenalee was staring at him with concern written all over her face. He wiped off the anger written all over his face and smiled while laughing nervously. She crossed her arms and didn't let his radiance fool her this time, no, not falling for that face. _But then again, with his eyes sparkling with innocence and the naïve little smile... no- Lenalee, no!_

"Forgot what, Lenalee?" He got lost in thought trying to think what he would've possibly forgotten._ Is it her birthday? Maybe a holiday, or maybe-_

"The club fair! It's already the end of November! I told you not to put this off," She fumed. He vaguely remembered a conversation at lunch about this, but obviously pushed it back so far in his mind that it didn't even register for a whole month.

"I'm sorry Lenalee, I've just had a lot on my mind," he replied with a large sigh. "What'd you pick, anyway?" He asked while stashing his book back in his bag. If he glared at those numbers any longer he'd probably start a fight with the book itself.

"I was, well, sort of waiting to see what you'd pick," she said while blushing.

Any minute now, the bell would ring and the students would be free to roam the halls and sign up at one of the many booths. It would take a tour around the entire school to visit every single club, since Komui offered to let each club have their own classroom to decorate and help recruit more members. Which meant that this day was nowhere near being over, and he'd have to continue his battle against the urge to sleep. _I didn't even notice all the clubs setting up all day. I guess I was pretty out of it._

"What about you, Lavi?" Allen asked without noticing Lenalee's implication. Lenalee sighed when his pure oblivious nature thwarted her attempt at flirting once again.

Lavi just as surprised as he was when awoken from his mid-class nap. Wiping off a little drool from the side of his mouth he sleepily answered, "Wait, that's today? Well-"

Lenalee dragged Allen away from Lavi by the back of his hood and whispered, "What did I tell you? Don't listen to him, Allen! _No one_ wants to be in the same club as Lavi. He singlehandedly destroyed the Boys' Cricket Team,"

"Not my fault," he chimed in from afar.

"You started hitting the opposing team with the racket!" Lavi laughed nervously but didn't deny it.

"And then the fiasco with the Baking Club," Lenalee was counting on her fingers now, and Lavi started to look more and more depressed with each accusation.

"They didn't tell me how to know whether an oven was on or off!"

"Even the War Reenactment Club went down in flames, metaphorically speaking," She said.

"I didn't understand the meaning of _bring_ your own gun and was charged with possession of a firearm on school grounds," he replied matter-of-factly, not even trying to defend himself this time. She listed about eight more clubs until stopping, deciding that she'd made her point.

"Plus, he almost destroyed Kanda's chances at going to Regionals for the Swim Team."

"How?" Allen asked when Kanda's hand twitched while writing something a few desks in front of them.

"I begged him to try some of the sushi I made in the Traditional Japanese Cuisine Club," Lavi whispered while Kanda glared at him.

"Kanda was throwing up for days. He only stopped throwing up for his race," Lenalee added. The bell rang and they all strolled out of the classroom, pulling Kanda along with them.

"Any suggestions?" Allen asked as he walked down the halls. They all looked inside each of the rooms, chit-chatting with friends and eating whatever samples they had. Along with getting chased out of the rooms of clubs Lavi had ever been associated with. _This all seems a bit pointless,_ Allen thought, but Komui insisted on getting students "more excited" about coming to school, since more and more people were not even bothering to show up for class.

"Well, you can't join any of the girl exclusive clubs, I've already tried that. You should probably avoid the group of boys who obsess over ponies down the hall, the vampire kids who draw on eyeliner with sharpie on the third floor, anything that has to do with sports, and _especially_ the Map-Makers and Survival Club." Allen glared in his direction but knew that his sense of direction was _not_ the best.

"Don't forget the entire science department, especially the Robotics Team," Lenalee added while shivering. Before Allen could question why, Lavi cut him off.

"We all should just join the swim team with Yuu!" Lavi said excitedly.

"No!" Allen and Kanda both said it in unison, a little too quickly. Allen absent-mindedly gripped his arm in discomfort; there was no way he was swimming. Lavi and Lenalee looked at both of them in confusion, which caused Allen and Kanda to eye each other suspiciously.

"Probably doesn't even know how to swim," Kanda said mockingly. He'd gladly take whatever excuse works for them.

Lavi shrugged and they continued their walk around the school, Allen losing more and more interest the farther they went. Along with that this school apparently had no idea how to turn on the heat, and he was so chilled to the bone that his teeth wouldn't stop chattering. He didn't mind the cold to a point and happened to like the wintertime, but he couldn't seem to find his jacket within his mess of a closet. Worse, at the rate he was losing weight from his lack of appetite, he was barely more than skin and bones.

"Allen why do you always have that sour look on your face these days?" Lenalee pouted. Lavi nodded his head in agreement.

"You're even more of a bean sprout than usual, too," Lavi remarked while pinching his rib. Allen jumped a little more than he should have; that rib was bruised already. He could feel Kanda's gaze burning holes right through him, but acted oblivious and ignored his anger.

He hid his discomfort behind a cheery smile while trying his best to sound positive. "Eh, have I really been that bad? I think I signed up for too many advanced classes, and all this work has me a little tired I guess."

"You know what you need," Lavi wrapped an arm around Allen, "a night out. No work, no worries; we all need to have a cheer up Allen party!"

Lenalee perked up at the idea. "That's a great idea! This weekend we're all going to hang out, okay, Allen?" He nodded with a warm smile; maybe that's just what he needed.

Allen turned forward only to bump into someone he'd almost forgotten existed. Looking up, he realized that it was a familiar face.

"Oh, sorry sir! Wait,_ Tyki?"_

"Fancy running into you, Allen. Do you three mind too terribly if I steal a moment of Allen's time?" He asked while graciously addressing the three.

Lavi gulped and stared nervously at Tyki until Lenalee elbowed him out of his terrified trance and chirped, "Oh, sure!"

Kanda remained his aloof self, but still eyed the man warily. Tyki gave a charming smile toward the three and turned around, assuming Allen would follow behind him. Allen looked back at the trio as he followed Tyki down the hall; Lavi silently dragging his finger across his throat through the air while Lenalee gave a wave as if she was watching a soldier board a sinking ship.

They headed toward the stairwell and he opened the door for Allen, who stood there for a moment before realizing he was supposed to go through. _He opened the door for me?!_ Allen kindly thanked him but still felt a bit disturbed by how polite one person could be.

"If you don't mind me asking, where are we going?" Allen said as he continued up the stairwell. Tyki didn't answer but when they finally reached the top of the stairwell he brushed past Allen and pulled a ring of keys out of his pocket. _How can everyone get keys to this place so easily?!_

Wait, were they going out on the roof?

"You're friends aren't too fond of me, are they?" Tyki murmured as he searched for the right key.

"Ah, no! It's not that at all, they're just-"

"You don't have to be nice and spare my feelings, Allen. I know what rumors go around this school," he finally put a key into the lock, "but do you believe them?" Tyki was looking at him now, as if to judge Allen's reaction rather than his words.

"I don't really know what I believe in anymore," Allen said finally.

For some reason, that seemed to satisfy him and he beckoned for Allen to walk through the door.

* * *

"He's been gone too long," Lavi said sullenly as he chewed on a free cookie. They all decided to wait in the commons room, and sat at a table while silently filling out papers for clubs. All except for Lavi, of course.

"You don't think anything bad is going to happen do you?" Lenalee said in a worried tone. She nervously twirled her hair, as if that would relieve some of the uneasiness she was feeling. Her pen tapped lightly as she stared at the blank form. She didn't like that Tyki; there was something off about him.

"Don't be stupid. They obviously want him to join their stupid club," Kanda replied. He didn't like it either; Allen _had_ been gone for too long.

"I wasn't aware there was a club? Which one is it?"

"How should I know?" Kanda snapped back. He knew there wasn't one, or at least not an official one.

"What if Allen's being initiated into a cult? What if Tyki's offering him a job as a spy for his drug empire, or worse, what if Allen's buying drugs? Ah, I can't stand all this waiting! We're all running out of time to pick a club!" Lavi yelled while running his hands through his hair. He was looking through Lenalee's clipboard again, noting where he'd marked out each club that had rejected him. There was a lot of black marker for one piece of paper.

"I'm already involved with the swim team, you two can figure it out for yourselves."

"The student council gave me an offer to be the secretary," Lenalee admitted. Lavi looked at them both and then realized they were filling out paperwork.

"What?! Does that make me the only man left out? I thought we were in this together!" Lavi said, visibly upset at the fact no club would let him join. Kanda and Lenalee shared nervous glances until she nodded her head that Lavi was probably the only student who didn't get into a club.

"You know what, let's just make our own club! Forget this rigged system! Then we don't even have to do anything, just sit around school for an hour or two," Lavi said, excitement suddenly back. Kanda snorted and Lenalee just sighed; this was a new low, even for him.

"I doubt Komui is just going to let you have an excuse not to do any work. Besides, you need members, and an actual idea for a club," Kanda replied.

"We only need enough people to fill the main positions, which would be the president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer. There are four of us, and four positions!"

"Okay, say Komui _actually_ let you get away with this. What's your brilliant idea?" Even Lenalee looked skeptical; she could technically pull the strings to get her brother to let them start a club, but they didn't even have an idea.

"What brought us together in the first place?"

"Almost getting killed in a goddamn basement, that's what," Kanda said in annoyance.

"Correct! We can be ghost hunters! And we don't even have to have any proof that we do anything, because ghosts are just that elusive. Although we would have proof if someone hadn't had a temper tantrum, " Lavi said. Lenalee and Kanda almost looked impressed; it was the perfect plan.

And then Kanda crushed his dreams. "No way."

"Yuu, please don't force me to have to clean up the school after hours!" He switched from begging at Kanda and got down on his knees in front of Lenalee. "Please, Please, please, please-"

Kanda rolled his eyes and finally said, "Okay, stop it already! If I _did_ consider joining your fake club, I wouldn't do any work."

"You can be the treasurer! We won't have any money, or even a need for money, so all you have to do is show up for a couple of minutes!" Kanda thought for a moment before shrugging. Anything to make him stop the stupid rabbit stop talking.

"I'll see what I can do, Lavi. Wait here!" And with that, Lenalee ran off.

"Doesn't she already run track? How's she going to have time for that, student council, and your stupid club?" Kanda muttered as he watched her leave.

"Wait. I totally forgot about Allen."

Kanda snorted at this. "He does whatever he's told. Won't be a problem with that idiot."

Lavi looked curiously, and Kanda suddenly realized what he'd just said. That night still hung heavy over his thoughts, and, thinking back on it, he realized he still had Allen's jacket. _Probably freezing and forgotten its existence, idiot bean sprout._ Where the hell was he, anyway? Worry left a bitter taste in his mouth, and it was something he wasn't used to. However, he couldn't help but to worry about the kid, because if he didn't, who would? Allen even seemed to be neglecting himself.

"Do I sense worry brewing beneath that angry little head of yours? What's going on with Allen, anyway?" Lavi knocked on Kanda's head to snap him out of his trance, causing him in turn to twist Lavi's hand back until he begged for mercy.

"None of my business, that's what," Kanda snapped back and continued to fill out his formal application to join his club.

He still felt a pang of regret, even though it truly was none of his business. He was the only one who knew why Allen was wearied and worn with black circles and losing weight quicker than Kanda could eat. Sometimes his makeup would be a little off, sometimes he just missed one spot. What probably pissed him off the most is how blatantly he'd lied to Kanda, to everyone in particular; he was just so good at it, convincing everyone that he was fine as if it was a practiced art. It probably was, but Kanda's tolerance for untrustworthy people was low.

Of course, Allen had no reason to trust him with how secretive he was. Damn it.

"Hey, look, Lenalee's coming back over!"

* * *

Allen stepped out onto the roof and looked around in awe. Sitting atop the roof, there was a garden build from the ground up, with ivy and roots and all shades of green snaking around arbors that arched over him and shaded the grey morning. Greenery overtook the entire roof, creating a space filled with all types of flowers and fauna that lit up the greens with pops of bright color. Mostly roses, he noted, coated the entranceway to the arbor roofed room. The inside of the hollow was filled with little flower boxes that held strange black roses and some sort of white puff-ball looking flower he couldn't name.

"It's beautiful," he breathed out while looking around.

"Not quite what you'd expected, I assume," he said sweetly as Allen's eyes shined.

"With a stranger taking me up to a suspicious roof, what am I supposed to assume," Allen joked as he carefully touched the walls of the giant den.

"Oh yes, you're going to join our cult now," Tyki replied. Allen blinked nervously and looked over at Tyki, straight-faced, in horror.

"Wait, are you guys actually the satanic club that hit me with the paper airplane? Even if my face looks deceiving, I swear I'm don't have anything to do with-"

"Oh, goodness no, Allen, I was kidding. You're thinking of the rather unsavory group down on the first floor." Tyki stood next to Allen and delicately touched one of the dark roses, before looking back at Allen. _What does he expect out of me?_

"Why exactly did you bring me up here, Tyki?"

"This roof is actually a simulation room. One of Komui's recent projects I assume, I accidentally chanced upon it one afternoon during lunch. It's designed to create whatever the first person who walks in wants it to be. I guess I was just curious about what the inside of your mind was like," he said without skipping a beat.

Allen's face had a mix of terror and wonder written all over it, and apparently his reaction was amusing enough to make Tyki laugh. He took a look around again; _was this really something he thought up? It was so plain and simple, but all he'd been wanting all day was some peace and quiet._ Suddenly he noticed that inside the arbor was a piano, something he hadn't played in years.

"This room changes, you know, almost every time you visit. If Komui knew I found out about this place he'd probably throw a fit," He added in amusement. Tyki curiously watched Allen walk over to the piano and added, "Oh, do you play?"

"I haven't in years," Allen replied quietly. He was still in shock at the fact a room like this existed, no wonder Lenalee said to stay away from the science department. They actually knew what they were doing.

"Go on, play something then!" Instead of arguing, Allen sat down on the smooth wooden chair and looked over the piano.

The keys were smooth and polished like glass, almost vibrating beneath his touch. He placed his fingers on them nervously;_ how did this go again?_ It took him a few seconds to remember a melody, but after a couple of keys his hands moved flawlessly across the board. The haunting melody filled the air within the room, somber and delicate like a spider's web. It sliced through the silence with soft and subtle notes, picking up into a chorus that reminded him of the night sky and twinkling stars. It was like a lullaby a mother would sing to her stillborn child, full of tears and misery and wasted love. It reminded him of crashing waves on a gloomy beach, but most of all, it reminded him of Mana.

_Mana?_

He stopped playing and snapped out of his music induced trance; the garden somehow changed to a rocky shore without him noticing, with an overcast that chilled him to the bone. A little embarrassed that he'd gotten so caught up in playing, he stepped away from the piano.

Tyki gave a slow clap and replied, "I am truly in awe, Allen Walker. That was beautiful."

"Come by my cousin's house-warming party next weekend. And by housewarming, I mean he's out-of-town, and he just bought a mansion. It's not black tie, either, so don't give me that look," Tyki taunted when Allen's face went a few shades paler. He'd never been to a party, much less a mansion.

"Bring along the three, too; maybe they'll end up warming up to me after all. Maybe you will, too." Tyki set an invitation in Allen's frozen hand.

"I hope to see you there, Allen Walker. Feel free to enjoy the weather up here as long as you'd like. Although it looks like the sky is taking a turn for the worse." He held out a glove, and sure enough, a few raindrops began to fall, soaking his glove in small circles. And just like that he was gone, leaving Allen bewildered and alone, with rain starting to soak into his skin and the crashing waves behind him. When he opened his palm, he realized that there was not only an invitation, but a key, too. A key to the roof.

* * *

"Eh? Sure, I guess, as long as it's not too much work," Allen replied while signing his name on a rather unofficial looking piece of paper.

"Told you he wouldn't care."

"You are a life saver, Allen! Metaphorically and literally!" Lavi said while hugging him a little too tightly. Allen shied away and winced in pain, but Lavi failed to notice.

"Don't get too excited Lavi," Lenalee said as she handed him another form.

After a few seconds of skimming over the paper he looked back up and yelled, "Fieldwork? ONCE a month? Lenalee, you can't be serious!"

"What's fieldwork?" Allen asked as he took a look at the paper._ Proof of club activity: Footage, written report of all details, including time date and members present, and a bodyguard for Lenalee at all times._

"Bodyguard for Lenalee?" Allen murmured in confusion.

"Basically, we have to actually go on ghost hunts once a month," Lenalee said in complete and utter defeat.

"I quit," Kanda said immediately as the words left her mouth.

"Too late, Yuu. You already put your signature on the form, and failure to comply to your club's rules results in a detention," Lavi replied matter-of-factly.

Allen sighed as Kanda started yelling at Lavi for getting him roped into this and opted to admire the dark, stormy night. He loved storms and most unusual weather in general, but he knew he wasn't going to enjoy it as much while walking home. The rain was battering the windows mercilessly, and he could hear it washing off the roof. For as violent as the weather was, it sure did sound pretty from the light tapping on the roof.

"Hey, Allen, what's that fancy piece of paper you've got in your hand?" Lenalee asked.

"Oh, I almost forgot! Tyki invited me to a party, and wanted you all to come along, too," Allen said cheerfully.

Everything went silent. If there could've been a tumbleweed in the cafeteria, it would definitely roll past the entire group at this moment. Lenalee's face paled as she continued to read the paper.

"Why would we hang out with that bastard?" Kanda was the only one to say what was written on all three of their faces.

"What do you have against Tyki?" Allen and Kanda still hadn't been on good terms since the other night; it only seemed to create worse tension between the two.

"Did he specifically mention us?" Lavi asked quietly when the paper was passed to him.

"Yeah, he definitely wanted you guys to come. He's not that bad of a guy, you know! We only have to stay for an hour or so, just long enough to be polite," Allen added.

"Not that bad of a guy? What do you actually know about him?" Kanda yelled back.

"What is your problem Kanda? You can't believe everything you hear! You don't even know him!"

"And you don't either!"

Lenalee and Lavi backed off as their argument grew more and more heated. Kanda and Allen were plain out fighting at this point, taking no mercy as they tried to pin the other to the ground and punch each others' face in.

"If he mentioned us, there's nothing we can really do," Lenalee whispered while watching Kanda take a direct hit to the face. Allen laughed in victory, only to be kicked in the stomach.

"I guess that's true. Hey, Lenalee, do you actually know how old Allen is? He doesn't seem like the type to party, much less old enough _to_ party," Lavi whispered back as Allen's feet were swept out from under him. He cried out in fear, but before hitting the ground, managed to knock Kanda over too.

She looked at him in surprise; she actually had no clue.

"Eh, Allen?" Lavi called out him. Allen and Kanda paused in the middle of their wrestling match and looked over at the pair hiding a little ways off.

"How old are you, exactly?" Lenalee asked. Kanda abruptly stopped trying to pin Allen down and glanced suspiciously at him, too.

Silence.

"F-fifteen," he finally admitted.

That was the closest Allen had ever seen Kanda come to laughing, and he smirked while getting off of Allen. Lavi started shaking his head in laughter, and Lenalee just blushed in embarrassment.

"H-hey! It's not like I can help it!" He yelled back in humiliation. He tried to wipe all the dust from his clothes and rolled his eyes when the three tried to hold in their laughter. _What am I supposed to do, magically get older?!_

"No wonder you're such a bean sprout. Whatever, we aren't going to any party. You shouldn't either, for God's sake, you're not even old enough to drive!"

"I am not a bean sprout! And My name is Allen! And since when do you make decisions for me?"

"Don't start this again you two," Lenalee yelled as Kanda prepared to jump Allen again.

Kanda's expression tightened, his hand twitched, and he glared Allen down. When Allen refused to break the staring contest, he let out a typical, "Tch," and stomped off. Allen looked back at the other two, who fearfully watching the argument go down from behind a table.

With a sigh and drooping of his shoulders, he brushed off Kanda's foul mood and said, "So, if we have to do a monthly report, and the month is technically over Sunday, then-"

"We're gonna have to go one a ghost hunt this weekend," Lavi finished in despair.

"I'll start looking up sources and making calls. Here, Allen, give me your number; I'll text you on Saturday and tell you what I can figure out," Lenalee said.

After reciting out the numbers to both Lavi and Lenalee, Allen said, "I've got to get home before this storm gets any worse. See you both tomorrow!"

"So much for cheering up Allen. At this rate, he's gonna turn into Kanda."

* * *

Allen stepped out from the front doors of the school and immediately shivered as the rain started to soak into his clothes. _Damn it, I'd hoped to be home before it got dark._

"You really walking all the way home in this?" He turned around and noticed Kanda, standing nearby and looking up as darker storm clouds approached.

"What are you still doing here? I thought you'd already gone home to pout?" Allen began walking away again; he was running out of energy to fight Kanda with, whether it be words or fists._ Was he waiting on me?_

"It's not safe!" Kanda yelled angrily.

"Nice of you to care, Kanda, but I'll be fine," Allen said sarcastically as he continued to walk off. Suddenly there was a sharp tug at his arm and Kanda jerked him back. He was staring at him intensely, not with anger for once, but a grim expression that was a little too serious for Allen's taste.

"Can I help you?" Allen ripped his arm back from Kanda's vicegrip._ How are you supposed to deal with people like this?_

"I was just going to tell you," he paused for a moment and then curtly continued, "that your makeup is washing off."

Allen felt the blood drain from his face as Kanda's words sunk in. Last night hadn't exactly gone that well between him and Cross; he knew there was a nasty black eye hiding beneath the thin sheet of makeup he wore. And his cheek was bruised, too, from the other night, and….

Neither he nor Cross made an attempt to fix the crumbling relationship; they didn't even talk anymore. Allen took care of amounts scribbled on notes; Cross put food in the fridge. It was a symbiotic relationship of passive aggressive tradeoffs. Except it wasn't so much the passive part and was more the latter. Things hadn't ever been this bad before.

He turned away from Kanda and tried to hide his face while muttering, "It's not that bad." It wasn't bad enough for him to scorn the only roof over his head. He doubted it would get much worse; Cross cared enough to keep him around, so he'd come to his senses eventually.

"Not that bad," Kanda almost sounded as if he was going to laugh as he repeated Allen's words. He pulled at Allen's arm again and forced him to face him, anger building as he looked at his marred face. "I could tell when I was sparring with you earlier that you're bruised all over. The other two may be too damn stupid to see through your excuses, but you're certainly running out of them."

"I didn't bother you about your encounter in the alleyway, Kanda, so maybe you should return the favor. Besides, it'll blow over in a week or two," Allen muttered in response. There was a crack of thunder, followed by a flash of lightning, and then the rain started pouring. If Kanda hadn't stopped him he might have been able to avoid this.

"Don't walk home in this, no, don't go home to _that_. Go sleep over at Lavi's dorm," Kanda said fiercely.

"You can't tell me what to do, BaKanda," Allen replied nonchalantly while walking away.

"What did you just call me, no forget it, you damn idiot! Can't you tell everyone is worried about you?" He yelled back as Allen continued to walk off. Allen tensed up but didn't turn around, and Kanda clenched his fists tightly before stomping off toward his dorm.

_ This must be what it's like to be on the other side of an argument with me_, he thought bitterly as he slammed his door.

He fell into bed in an angry huff and begrudgingly took his phone off the nightstand. Four texts from Lenalee, two missed calls, two voicemails, and a couple missed texts from numbers he hadn't bothered to save.

**Lenalee: 1-423-322-9097**

**Lenalee: *That's Allen's number just incase we get separated tomorrow night**

**Lenalee: Try not to be so mean to him, okay, Kanda? **

**Lenalee: And learn how to txt back!**

He threw his phone aside and scowled into his pillow. _It's not like I want to be, damn it._

* * *

**Next chapter: The Stormy Night and the Ghost Hunt that Follows!**

**(Thank you views, followers, and especially reviewers. The positive feedback I've gotten so far is so wonderful and sweet and makes me feel all nice :) you guys are the best!)**


	6. Blood and Wine

**Letting you know beforehand, this chapter has some serious violence and blood and everything that goes along with that. If you aren't okay with that, I suggest skimming the first half or so. **

* * *

Slamming the door behind him, Allen gritted his teeth and headed straight for the stairs. _Kanda thinks he just knows everything, doesn't he? Just because I'm short he can treat me like- no, I'm not even short! Damn it, he's just tall! Why is he even in my business?_

Questioning why Kanda had bothered him so much recently was a regular thought at this point. Worrying wasn't Kanda's forte, so why'd he pick up the habit all of the sudden? It was all a little too suspicious for Allen's taste, but what would be his motive?

"You're getting water all over the floor, idiot. Why the hell are 'ya home so late?" The storm picked up into severe thunderstorm weather mid-way on his walk home and there wasn't an inch of him not soaked and frozen over.

"Got caught up in the storm," Allen muttered while trying to get away as fast as possible. I need a shower, a couple painkillers, and some sleep. Thinking about his warm bed was enough to soothe his anger.

"Allen."

"What?" Allen asked in an exasperated tone and looked over to see Cross in the kitchen, not even glancing in his direction. He was searching through the fridge for something, which Allen could only come to the plausible solution of more alcohol.

"What's got you so mad?" Cross asked without turning around. _That's all he stopped me for?_ Allen didn't bother replying and turned for the stairs once more. If this was his poor attempt at an apology then it could wait until Allen dried off.

"Wait," Cross repeated, cigarette hanging out of his mouth. He looked like a wreck, which was strange; the man never neglected his own personal care. But his hair was a tangled and unbrushed mess, and he wasn't dressed up in the least. Worst of all, he was being nice.

"What can I help you with now?" Allen said with a sigh. He was sick of the fighting.

"When did you turn into such a brat? Whatever, I need you to go down to the store down the block and get me another bottle of-" A boom of thunder cut off his words and shook the house in unholy tremors. The lights flickered for a moment, but decided to stay on much to Allen's relief.

"You can't be serious."

Cross walked rather ungracefully over and put some money in his hand. Allen winced from the smell of straight whiskey coming off him; he never usually drank hard liquor, but his slurred speech was enough proof. _Something is off. Something is definitely wrong,_ Allen thought while staring up at drunken face.

"Don't be a baby. It'll only take ten minutes, besides, it's important." Another crash of thunder, and the lightning that followed lit up the insides of the house in a bright white.

Allen started to protest, but Cross took his free hand and slapped him across the mouth, leaving his mouth agar and lip bleeding. _So it's a no on the apology then. _

Instead of getting mad like usual, Allen just laughed out loud and mocked, "If only Mana could see you now, Cross! I'm sure he'd be so pleased with what you've done with your life!"

He knew he sounded like a brat; he knew he took it too far. In that moment, the look of shock on Cross's face was worth whatever came after. He'd just won this argument, and all the ones before, and all the ones after. They both treaded carefully around that name, but Allen didn't care anymore. Tonight was just a push too far; Cross could take care of his own alcoholic self.

No, he miscalculated this win; this was a grand defeat for Allen, which only took him seconds to realize as he cringed at Cross's reaction.

He watched Cross raise the wine bottle, still with quite a bit left in it, and instantly swing the bottle right back down. There was a clap of light that illuminated the room just as the impact of the darkened glass smashed against Allen's skull. It wasn't the pain that first hit him, but his ears resounded with the sound of shattered glass. The room started spinning with reckless abandon and he collapsed down to the floor in a hazy state of somewhat consciousness, somewhat unconsciousness.

There was searing pain in his right arm. Wait, the right one? He couldn't tell what was going on; everything was a blackened, hazy, and confused mess within his crashing thoughts. The power must've gone out with the last bolt of lighting because his vision was so impaired.

Without warning, the pain in his right arm intensified and he could feel his flesh was being ripped apart, like a dull knife scraping down to the bone along his arm. The scraping against the bone sounded like nails on a chalkboard, and his screams soon reverberated louder than the thunder.

Cross didn't even seem angry, and the only thing he said was,

"Mana never loved you, Allen."

"Liar," Allen managed to mumble out as his wounds started to overtake his ability for rational thought.

"Deny it all you want, but he used you. Even with his dying words, he wasn't speaking to you. Mana was speaking through you. Disfigured and pathetic, I still took you in against my will because of that damned man."

"Liar!"

"All because of,"

Cross stopped mid-sentence and Allen heard something crack, and he screamed until he was swept up beneath a sea of shadows.

* * *

Allen slowly woke up, but his body was moving a lot quicker than his thoughts were processing the chain of events. When he looked around, glass fell from his head and shoulders and onto the bloody ground around him. The bittersweet smell of sour wine covered him; what happened? Whose blood was that?

Ah. That's mine.

A little surprised to be alive, he immediately made the decision to escape the kitchen massacre and head upstairs.

He managed to pull himself up off the ground and flipped a shaky finger against the light switch. _No good, the power is still out_, he thought when nothing happened. The storm was still raging outside, and there was a boom, a bright flash, and most visibly, blood.

He only got a glance at where he'd passed out when the flash erupted from the window, and from the wall down was stained in spatters of red and purple. Wine and blood, he surmised from the metallic and sour smell. His clothes were still soaking wet from his walk home and painted a black and morbid color. He fell against the wall accidentally tripping over his own feet, sudden dizziness overtaking him. _I need to make it upstairs before I pass out again._

Walking was a slow and painful process, if this unsteady tottering was still considered walking. He kept missing steps and each fall made it harder to get up. Leaning up against the wall for support, he staggered up the stairs and looked down the hall. There were candles lining the walls and floor leading to Cross's room, and the door was somewhat ajar so that he could slightly see in.

When he peeked in a little closer, Cross was kneeling over a bench, holding a rosary over his head and muttering something that sounded like a prayer or incantation. He heard Mana's name in the incoherent prayers, but decided against getting anywhere near Cross. Smearing a trail of nasty colors against the wall with the arm he used to hold himself up, he finally made it back to his room.

He collapsed in the middle of the floor in a cold and hazy heap. Moonlight was coming in through the blinds; did that mean the storm was clearing up? No, he could still hear soft rain, tapping gently at the roof. It was calming and he was so tired, in fact, more tired than he'd been in his whole life.

However, searing pains were keeping him awake; his head felt cracked open, he wouldn't be surprised if it was, but worse, there was pain shooting up through both of his arms. He pulled up both of his bloodied sleeves, only to run into the bathroom in attempt to stop from puking on the floor, at least. _Oh God…_

He was throwing up, maybe from the sight of the state he was in, or maybe from the pure pain and terror running through his veins. All that was coming out of him was blood and bile, but he couldn't stop from heaving into the toilet. This was terrible, awful; this was worse than it'd ever been. He didn't even know where to begin with trying to fix this situation much less move from this spot.

A small, soft ringtone started chiming from his pocket momentarily pulled him away from the horror. He wiped off his mouth with an equally bloody sleeve and tried to look at the screen, but the phone was so bright compared to his surroundings it blinded him for a moment. Eventually he could make out the message popping up. It was an incoming call from a number he didn't recognize.

He ignored it for a moment and used the light from the screen to look at his wounds. _Don't throw up, don't throw up, it isn't that bad, it isn't that bad, you're all right Allen, you're all right_.

But he knew this one wasn't a "fixer upper". He knew that he wasn't all right. Whatever sensation he'd been feeling in his arm before he blacked out was highlighted in a long and deep gash ripped straight down his forearm. His best guess was the glass from the broken bottle was thrust into his skin, right next to the joint in his elbow, and dragged down to his wrist while tearing open his flesh. It had to be glass, because the line that ripped open his skin was ripped and jagged. However, right at the wrist where the serrated line stopped, a horizontal line cross-haired with it. The one across his wrist is_ a clean line_, he realized,_ there was a method to this madness_. This wasn't Cross's usual form of drunken stupor, this was something else entirely.

And might've been a truly murderous intent.

He could see the white of his bone through the bloody mess and hurled once again, shaking and shivering as he pulled away from the bowl. His other arm was a mess, due to the skin already being warped and distorted. Cutting through it obviously hadn't been easy; but the same pattern was harshly carved into it with the neatness of a kindergartener and a crayon.

The phone continued to buzz, and he decided to answer it. Who was going to be the lucky caller to hear his last words? _The call was probably only prank from someone who got a hold of his number_, he assumed. After answering the phone, there was a long silence.

"Yeah?" Allen said, in a stronger voice than he'd expected to come out of him. He held the phone out for light and lifted up his arm; blood was dripping out still, like a leaking faucet. If he didn't do something there was a high chance he was going to bleed out. No, he _was_ going to bleed out if he didn't do something.

"Is that really how you answer the phone?"_ Well, well, well, look at the infamous Kanda Yuu calling him at three in the morning._ Turning his attention back to his arms, he tried to think through how much time had passed. If Cross had done this at around twelve, and he'd already been bleeding out for three hours, then he probably needed real medical treatment. But then again, why did he need to do anything?

"Why are you calling me at three in the morning?" While inspecting the marks, it became blindingly obvious that he couldn't think of a reason to stop the bleeding. There wasn't any sense of logic to continue doing this, day after day. God had forsaken him, or maybe offered him a chance at salvation with these cross-shaped marks.

"Are you, I mean, did you make it home okay? Are you okay?" Kanda sounded worried, and it made Allen uneasy. The last thing he wanted was to bother other people with his mess of a life. A burden from the beginning, to both Cross and Mana.

"Sheesh, what are you, my mother? Kanda I'm fine," he said as nonchalantly as he could. He fell to his side and laid his head against the cool tile.

It was freezing in this house with the power out, and he eyed his bed through the bathroom door. No, he came to the conclusion that he didn't want to die peacefully on his bed; that was surrendering altogether. But he still crawled over there and snatched a blanket falling off the side of the bed before he returned to his position of lying on the floor.

"Eh, Kanda, are you still there?" Allen asked while gently putting the phone on speaker and laying it on the floor next to his head.

"Yeah," he finally answered. _Why did he even call me? Does he have some sort of sixth sense?_

"Sorry for being such an asshole," Allen mumbled. Shouldn't be long now, he thought while watching the blood pool up on the tile around his arms.

"An apology from you? You must be delirious." He didn't like that apprehensive tone in Kanda's voice, it was almost like he could sense something was wrong. Since when did Kanda care about anyone? Had he been up all night worrying?

"Allen?"

"Allen!" Allen cracked one eye open and glared at his phone.

"Allen, answer me, damn it!" Why wouldn't this bastard just let him sleep? Should he just tell Kanda to leave him alone, or just hang up all together? But that would mean the end. Hanging up was sealing his fate, and even though he'd already decided on doing that, going alone seemed even more morbid than the situation already was.

Kanda wasn't exactly his first choice when it came to someone to call in his dying moments, but it was certainly better company than the rain.

Giving into Cross; what a way to go.

"Someone once told me," he paused and held up he left arm above him, looking at the horrible cross embedded in his hand. It's glowing, he noticed, illuminating the room with a weak green light right through the blood covering it. To be honest, he had no idea what the cross actually was or meant; it'd just been a birth defect, he assumed. Maybe some sort of childhood trauma he'd forgotten; good, the past should stay where it belongs. The past.

"To keep moving forward," he continued. Speaking of the past, his thoughts circled back to Mana, and Cross's words. _Speaking through me? Mana, what would you have me do?_ The want for answers was gnawing at him, but he knew that it'd be impossible to pull anything out of Cross.

"If you're in trouble, tell me, damn it. I can come and-"

His left eye started watering up, but when he touched his face, it wasn't tears he was crying out; it was blood.

Suddenly a figure emerged from the darkness, bending over to look at Allen's horrible state while smiling. Dressed up in full clown attire with a painted on grin, Mana stood there plain as day. That was how he looked when Allen first met him, quite contrary to his gentlemanly stature upon his death. "Mana," he whispered as he reached out to the figure. His hand passed through the illusion, and the clown disappeared just as quickly as he'd appeared. Just before he evaporated into the darkness, he mouthed something unrecognizable.

"Wait," Allen called out weakly while still grasping at thin air, but it was too late. He was gone.

"Who are you talking to? Are you sure you don't want me to-" Allen's eyes widened; if he really could see and speak to ghosts, then Mana could exist. Mana was here.

"Don't," Allen said sternly while giving his best shaky effort to sit up. Mana was enough of a reason for stopping the blood loss. There was no way he was giving up this easily, not after how far he'd already come. Not to Cross, not to anyone.

First things first, he planned out how to treat this disaster of a wound. He needed to cut off the blood flow to his arm so he could treat it better, but to do that, he needed a rope, or a strip of fabric, or- _ah._ He pulled his ribbon from around his neck and tied it as tightly as possible just above the joint.

Crawling over to the sink and rummaged through the bottom cabinet, he found what he needed: disinfectants, gauze, and tape. It occurred to him how much blood he was losing with every passing moment. Was it already too late? There were pools of black reflecting the shimmering moonlight all over the floor in his bedroom and bathroom.

"Kanda, stay on the phone, would you? I need a distraction," Allen said, trying not to think about it, and then put his phone on mute. Now he can't hear me try to patch this up.

He held his arm over the sink and opened up the bottle of disinfectant. Looking away, he liberally poured the burning substance over the wound until he couldn't stand it any longer and dropped the bottle in pain. The second the liquid entered his cuts he started crying out; it stung so bad that he was tearing up. Once the white foam dissipated from the wound he gritted his teeth and started bandaging it up as quick as possible; the first layer of gauze was already stained red.

"Huh? What do you want me to say?" Damn it, his vision was giving out on him. He should've cut the suicidal crap earlier; it was already too late.

He held himself up and fought against the urge to pass out. _No, it's not too late. I'll make it through this._

He tapped the mute button off, leaving blood on the screen accidentally, and in the calmest voice he could muster, he replied, "Anything, really. Tell me a story. Something about you, or something interesting you heard. Anything."

He couldn't tell what Kanda was saying, but the noise helped him finish his right arm up. He untied the ribbon and knotted it on his left arm so that he could work on the next wound. The smell of alcohol and rust was overpowering his senses, but before he could talk himself out of it, he grabbed the bottle of disinfectant and poured it on the other wound. He was cursing like a sailor and hissing through clenched teeth, but this wound wasn't as deep as the other due to the impossibility of cutting through his distorted skin.

"Allen, what the hell is going on? Forget it, I'm just coming over anyway," Kanda yelled. Did he forget the mute button?

"You'll only make things worse, Kanda. Just," Allen faltered as he fell against the sink in a dizzy spell, "I just need your voice. Do me this favor, and you can beat me up all you want tomorrow." He wasn't just doing this for Mana; it was for Kanda too. And Lavi and Lenalee's smiling faces; how could he just give up on them all? Making Kanda worry this much hurt him a little more than it should've; he couldn't imagine being on the other end of the phone call.

"Don't put the mute button back on then, jackass. I need to be able to tell if you're dead or not. And let me tell you something, dumbass, if you don't answer every question I ask you tomorrow, I will-" He started in on a whole list of colorful death threats, some in Japanese, and Allen only laughed in response. After finishing up his left arm, he fell back down to the floor as the light-headedness stole his ability to sit up. Wrapping the bloodstained blanket around him, he realized how comfortable everything had suddenly become and felt himself drifting off.

"Thank you," Allen said softly. Now he just had to avoid freezing to death.

"Allen," Kanda paused mid-sentence. Allen knew Kanda was someone who never hesitated, and the pure strain in his voice cut like glass through the air.

"Will I ever see you again?"

"I sure hope so," Allen said softly in his delirium.

"Goodnight, Kanda."

"Goodnight, Allen."

* * *

He woke up to the rattle and buzz of the floor; his phone was going off, urgently trying to wake him up. Caller ID: Lenalee?

He answered almost immediately, but his voice was hoarse and his throat was torn apart. It took him a couple of seconds to actually force words out. "Hey, Lenalee. What's up?"

"Really? You think you can simply "What's up?" me when I've been trying to get a hold of you for the whole day?!"

Allen blinked sleepily at his phone; five missed calls from Lenalee alone.

"Sorry, I was away from my phone," He replied in probably the most flimsy excuse possible.

She could hear her muttering something angry to someone off the phone, either Lavi or Kanda, and then turned her attention back to Allen. "Can you meet us at that old church in an hour or so? If you leave now you can get some coffee with us. It's going to be a long night, but I think it'll be fun!"

"An hour?" He looked down at all the blood covering him, but mostly at his arms. The power wasn't back on, but it was a little brighter than it had been last night. Something he wasn't thankful for; the sight of it alone left him gagging.

"Yeah, sure, I'll meet you at the church. Got to go, Lenalee! Sorry!" Without waiting for a response he hung up.

After waking up, he forgot about the mess he'd created everywhere. It would take a couple of bottles of bleach to even make a dent in this red and black hued mess. This was worse than a battlefield, no, it was a hell-scape of blood and wine.

He couldn't shower with his arms in this state, so he started filling the bath with cold water and stripped off his bloody clothing, neatly folding it next to the blanket he'd ruined. There wasn't any hot water with the power out, unfortunately, and in retrospect it would probably burn any cuts he had on him anyway. As he picked through his closet with shaky hands, he realized losing all that blood did a number on him. Was it really such a good idea to agree to ghost hunting all night?_ Too_ _late now,_ he assumed_, I promised those idiots I'd be there._ This thick sweater, and these dark jeans should be fine.

_Besides, I want to see them._

After laying out his outfit on the only clean section of the sink, he slid his sore muscles into the bath. Sleeping on the floor was not one of his greatest ideas. While scraping off the stains spattered on his skin, he suddenly realized he'd slept until six in the evening. But he was alive.

He was alive.

As he started rubbing shampoo in his hair, silent tears started slipping out of the corners of his eyes and the salty mixture burnt the cuts on his face. Real tears, not the bloodied ones from last night, were dripping out. But he couldn't control his outburst of tears; he was alive. And there was hope, a small glimmer of hope that he may get to talk to Mana again.

While sitting in the icy numbing water, he carefully re-bandaged his wounds, cursing and yelling his way through the process. Not wasting any time in the frigid water, he hopped out, pulled the drain plug, and changed into his warm clothes. Red hued water swirled down the drain in a tornado of last nights agony. Best to leave last night down the drain, he decided.

The house even colder than it was last night, and he lit a few candles so he could see his face in the mirror. His hands shook as he liberally wiped on the makeup, trying to carefully pat out the scratches to look normal. After his poor attempt at trying to fix his face, he opened his cabinet full of magical cures. A couple of these painkillers, some of these anxiety meds, maybe a couple of those in that unmarked bottle will help me stop shaking. _This is so stupid_, he thought,_ Kanda is totally going to notice._

Kanda. He'd almost forgotten Kanda's lucky phone call last night. Checking the time, he realized he had no time to reminisce on their poor attempt at conversation.

Only stopping to lock the door behind him, he chased after the dimming rays of sunlight.

However, a horrible wave of dizziness stopped his attempt at a five second anime montage all the way there and he slowed down his pace. The walk gave him just enough time to realize that he'd promised Kanda answers to questions he couldn't even answer. _Too late now,_ he thought in fear. _I'm screwed._

* * *

"Oh, Lenalee, you didn't have to," Allen said in surprise as she held out an extra cup of coffee for him.

"We've all got to stay up together, Allen. Can't have you falling asleep on us!" Lavi said as he started chugging another energy drink.

"Thanks," he said warmly, and took a sip. She was truly an angel; his sore throat tasted like blood and toothpaste. This coffee was his only fuel in the past day or two; when had he last eaten exactly? Unable to pinpoint a day, he just thankfully sipped the hot liquid instead.

"You're not going to sleep for days if you don't stop drinking those," Lenalee said falteringly in Lavi's direction as she watched him finish it off.

"Eh Where's Kanda?" Allen asked.

"Inside setting up cameras. But Allen, steer clear of Yuu today. He's on a warpath for no clear reason," Lavi whispered in fear. Allen laughed nervously but his heart sank when he thought what Kanda was going to say when he saw him.

"Where'd we get equipment?" Allen asked incredulously. The church was pretty big; he wondered how many cameras they needed. Maybe that feeling he'd gotten the first day had something to do with a ghost.

"Our amazing little secretary here managed put all this together overnight. I'd be cleaning up after school if it wasn't for her," Lavi said while hugging Lenalee. She just laughed and brushed off his compliments. Watching everyone so riled up and excited relieved some of the hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach, but this place still put him on edge.

Even after all the medicine he took, his arms were throbbing and the pain was still gnawing at the back of his mind. He looked up at the sky; the sun was long gone with twilight settling in. Along with some nasty storm clouds.

"Eh, you guys that doesn't look so good," Allen said while pointing at the menacing sky.

"Let's not waste any more time, you two! Into the church we go!" Lenalee said excitedly while ignoring Allen and sped off through the old wooden doors with Lavi chasing after her.

Once inside the creaky entrance, they all flipped on their flashlights and looked around. The main thing Allen noticed was how decrepit it was; no one had been in here in years, in fact, even their footprints showed up on the ground as they disrupted the layers of dust. He looked straight ahead and noticed a dozen or so rows of pews, and a raised altar at the end. There was a stained glass window, which had boarded up holes and random cracks lining the pane.

There were two sets of stairs in the same main room that led up to a loft, and two halls that branched off to the left and right from the small balcony. Those halls probably weren't that long, maybe only containing a room or two on each side. It would be easy to cover the entire church.

"So are we sticking together this time?" Allen chirped, already knowing the answer was a yes. They obviously wouldn't split up again after the horror of their last ghost hunt.

"No. What ghost would come up to us if we had a giant group moving around?" His cheery mood soon faded into depression and his face soured at the thought of getting stuck with the scared Lavi.

"So, I'll be sticking with Lenalee. Because, let's face it Allen; you're a walking magnet for ghosts," Lavi said nervously.

"Which means I'm with," he stopped as loud boots thumped down the creaky steps.

_Kanda._

* * *

**...annnnnd it turns out I didn't get around to the ghost hunt this chapter (not exactly). Lots of spooky stuff to come though.**

**OK OK OK HOLD YOUR FIRE AND DONT KILL ME ABOUT THE FIRST HALF OF THIS CHAPTER. There's going to be actual answers next chapter about important things and maybe the secret behind why Cross did what he did.****_ Actual answers? From me?_**

**Last order of business: My vague questions! What will Kanda say? What the hell is Cross's problem? And most of all, is the church haunted?**

**Leave a review, even if it's just yelling at me, because let's face it, I deserve it.**


	7. Purity

"Cameras are all set up."

Kanda swiftly descended the stairs to come meet the group. He was wearing his typical black boots with even darker pants tucked in, and a white jacket that wrapped itself around him. It appeared tight around the waist but still comfortable; it wasn't exactly how Allen expected Kanda to dress, but in an odd sense it suited him.

This was one of those rare times Allen wasn't finely dressed, but his usual clothes didn't fit him at this point. Plus, the rest are covered in blood.

"We'll take the second floor!" Lavi said excitedly and started running up the stairs while dragging an uncertain Lenalee along.

"Wait, Lavi!" Allen beckoned for Lavi to stop on the balcony area. "What are we supposed to do, exactly?"

"Séance! Voice Recorders! Word Generator Devices! Everything you need is in that bag on the pew over there!" And with that, the pair disappeared, leaving behind a swirl of dust and the unbearable tension Kanda was creating. Allen looked over at Kanda, who was just as annoyed as he was at the fact they were just ditched. After a few seconds of uncomfortable eye contact, Allen decided that the silent treatment was probably better than whatever Kanda actually wanted to say.

He decided to take a look around before any of the equipment came out. They didn't have too much ground to cover; in fact, it was just one giant room. Granted, it stretched a ways back, but it was nowhere near as complicated as the catacombs of the school basement.

_At least I can't get lost. How did I end up on another ghost hunt, again?_

He flashed his light under, over, and around the long line of pews. Finding nothing but more dust and cobwebs, he looked around at the walls. Ripped paintings of biblical scenes, old dressers with broken religious figures sitting atop, and most of all, the boarded up and cracked stained glass windows were the main highlights. The foreboding altar at the end was the main highlights of the room. The arched ceiling, partly blocked out by the balcony that led to the upper halls, looked as if it could easily cave in, with random pieces of rotting wood hanging loose. Rain seemed to find its way in one way or another, and there were little puddles from the dripping roof that he slipped in once or twice.

When he finally made it to the end of the room, he peered behind the altar and noticed an opened bible on top of the podium. Upon closer inspection, he realized the pages were blank. The pages stirred up dust and almost crumbled beneath his fingers as he flipped through them to look for any writing. But even with empty contents, the cover proclaimed that it was the Holy Bible: King James Version.

"Kanda, come look at this," Allen said as he made sure to get the empty bible on his camera._ He's got to participate one way or another, whether he likes it or not._ Without a word, Kanda sauntered over to where Allen was, boots slightly splashing one of the puddles, and glanced over the bible himself. After flipping through a page or two, he took a picture of it for evidence and then stalked back off to wherever he was sulking. _Damn it,_ Allen thought, _This was probably worse than Kanda's outright anger. If there's one thing Kanda hates, it was weakness. After last night's disaster, he probably hates me so much he can't stand to be near me._

It only took an hour for Allen to already become disinterested with the once-spooky-now-boring church. He almost considered going to find out what Lavi and Lenalee were up to; anything to avoid this pure silence and tension filled air. Kanda disappeared up the stairs to mess with a camera pointed down the stairs for the past twenty minutes; Allen wouldn't be surprised if he was actually sleeping. Neither of them had said a word the entire time.

With a dejected sigh, Allen sat down at a pew and started fishing through the bag Lavi left. There was an extra camera, a voice recorder with a set of questions taped on them in Lenalee's handwriting, some other equipment he had no idea how to use, and searching deeper, he found a deck of cards and a board game. Putting aside the only interesting things, he took out the voice recorder and read off questions while waiting the standard 30-second pause. Nothing.

He tossed the recorder back in the bag and called out to Kanda in an attempt to make some sort of conversation._ Just yell at me already_.

"Hey, Kanda, do you want to play Ouija board with me?" When he only got Kanda's typical snort of contempt in response, he dejectedly carried the board behind the altar.

"Need some light," he mumbled while looking around the church. Sure enough, he found an unused candelabrum that had more dust than wax. That should help the eerie ambiance. He had to admit, as the night set in and the storm continued to pick up, the church was growing creepier with every passing moment. The only two things he had to cut through the velvet darkness were a weak flashlight and now this candle, since the moon would be no help behind the storm clouds.

Using a box of matches from inside one of the drawers, he lit the three candlewicks and then placed it on the floor next to him. When he lifted off the top of the box a cloud of dust rose up and coated his face. He sneezed and almost fell backward but managed to catch himself before tumbling into a rather large puddle.

"Bless you." Allen muttered thanks.

"Wait, So you'll bless me but you won't come play a lame board game with me?" Allen yelled over to Kanda who still looked half asleep on the stairs.

He glanced over at Allen through a cracked eye and said, "What?"

Allen looked over to his left and right; d_id the game draw a ghost's attention? Or was that just Kanda being Kanda?_ He stared down the box, almost afraid to touch it. Amidst a clash of thunder, he heard a voice again.

_Go ahead; take it out of the box._

Not wasting any time, he carefully lifted the board out and pushed the box aside. Excitement was starting to run down through his fingertips because something interesting was finally happening. _Can't get scared now,_ he reminded himself, _this is what you came to do._

The pointer and board looked a little worn, but he could still make out the black inked letters upon the polished cherry wood. It had the alphabet written in the center, with the words "Yes" and "No" above the letters, and a number line below the letters. "Hello" and "Goodbye" were written on the left and right side.

_What are you supposed to say, exactly?_

"Hi, I'm Allen Walker," He said politely after putting his hand on the dial, deciding that a formal greeting was the best way to go. It only took a few seconds before his hands started shaking and the pointer almost threw him into the wall with the speed it moved. It abruptly stopped on the word,_ Hello._

Even if it was a childish board game, he made sure the camera up on the podium was positioned correctly so that you could see the entire board. This might be the only proof they find all night. Once everything was securely set up, he asked, "What is your name?"

There were a few moments of silence, and unease set in. What if this was a ghost like the one before? Escaping would be easier, of course, but it was still an undeniable variable. The board started shaking and came back to life. The same violent jerking movements threw him across the board.

"D-O-N-T."

"Don't," Allen recited as he spelled it out.

"R-E-M-M-B-E-R."

"Remmber? Did you spell remember wrong?" Allen muttered as he traced the way the pointer moved again. Suddenly it lurched over to the "Yes" position. At least this ghost is honest.

Before Allen could ask another question, he heard the thunder pick up once again, and the rain began pounding down on the roof of the church, so audible that he couldn't hear the shaking of the board.

With another rattling bang from the sky, the pointer sprung to life and started its wild rush around the board, unprompted by Allen.

"H-E-L-L."

"Hell?" Allen said meekly._ My hand feels hot._

"E-A-R-L."

Making sure he'd followed the letters correctly, he realized that the word was actually "Earl", but he couldn't make any sense of what it meant. His hand was burning at this point, but he was positive he was supposed to switch the Ouija board to "Good-Bye" before you took your hands off, or else evil spirits could come out. Whether that was true or not was something he didn't want to test.

"G-O-D."

"God?" Allen said curiously. The pointer only stopped for mere seconds, as if to indicate a space in the sentence.

"A-B-A-N-D-O-N-E-D."

"God abandoned," Allen stopped when he knew where this was headed. A lonely and bitter ghost probably hid back in these rafters, and his senses were starting to notice the drop in temperature along with the seething pain in his left hand.

The pointer jerked to the last two letters, "M" and "E", and Allen used all his force to push the pointer back to the "Goodbye" position and cried out in pain as his hand practically started to blister beneath his glove. Suddenly the wounds on his arm were beginning to burn on top of the pain they perpetually caused him all night.

He slightly pulled up his glove and inspected where the bandages stopped; his skin was a bright red and hot to the touch. The cross embedded in his hand radiated from beneath the fabric in a soft green glow. That's probably not a good sign. Frigid air surrounded him now, and whatever ghost's attention he'd finally gotten were not going to leave him alone with just a simple goodbye.

He glanced around while cursing and clutching his hand in pain before noticing a hole in the window that rain was attempting to break in through. Slipping off his glove, he stuck his hand out the window and into the rain. After the few seconds of relief, he distinctly felt something touching his fingers, and then his arm was promptly pulled through the hole in the window.

He yelped and snatched his arm from the foreboding grasp on the other side of the window, shakily slipping on his glove afterward. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder and jumped in his skin, falling backward when he slipped in a puddle.

* * *

"Allen, cut it out!" Kanda said while grabbing onto his arm. _Damn it, I take my eyes off this kid for five seconds and he's trying to hop out a window._

It was too late for Allen's poor balance and no matter how hard Kanda tugged on his arm, he still tumbled to the ground, drenching his clothes in the chilly rainwater. Kanda almost fell over, too, but kept his graceful posture and clothes clean of dust and water.

"Kanda, let go of me," Allen hissed in pain as his iron grip still clenched his wrist. Realizing he'd actually ended up hurting Allen in his attempt to save him, he immediately let go. All the dust that was stirred up left Kanda coughing and irritated at Allen's spooked antics.

"What's going on down here, idiot? Scared of a ghost?" Kanda said mockingly while bending down. Kanda could barely make out Allen's face from the light the candle, which he somehow managed to not knock over, and realized how much pain he was actually in.

Allen didn't answer and instead kept his eyes shut tight in pain; _what the hell had he done? No, it was my fault for him falling. I didn't mean to scare him_. When Allen finally got over the first wave of pain and the throbbing in his arm started to go down, he looked up and noticed Kanda watched him the whole time.

Kanda looked over at the altar, hit the power button off on the camera and asked, "Care to explain?" _No more avoiding the bean sprout._ He needed answers, and had thought all night long on how to go about it, but couldn't seem to find a way to approach him._ Allen probably thinks I hate him._

"Just fell down funny, I guess," Allen said while struggling to stand._ When did he get so weak? He can barely stand. I need to just ask about last night, no more avoiding it. When did I become such a sensitive pushover?_

"Not what I'm talking about. Damn it, come over here and sit down before you pass out," Kanda said while helping the stumbling Allen over to a pew. They sat down next to each other, and without asking for permission, Kanda pulled up Allen's right sleeve where he grabbed him earlier.

He winced and looked away at first; he could already see blood on the bandages that wrapped all the way around his forearm. So he did rip something open. Allen tried to pull the sleeve back down, but Kanda stopped him, making wary eye contact that said that he wasn't getting out of this one. Instead, he quietly lifted up the bandages a little trying to act as if he wasn't afraid of what was beneath. But this was terrifying, a feeling he wasn't accustomed with. This wound was a plain enough explanation for the fine line Allen walked last night between life and death.

"Damn it, bean sprout. This is awful," Kanda said as he finally noticed the cross shape stretching from the forearm to the wrist._ It's so harshly destroyed, oh God, is that white the bone beneath the cut?_ He gave up trying to keep a calm composure and pulled Allen's sleeve down for him, whose obvious discomfort lessened when the wound was covered.

"It's never been like this," Allen admitted in defeat. This was so strange, the two talking as if they were close friends. They'd been mortal enemies before last nights phone call, but now Kanda wasn't so sure about anything to do with him. Everything was a mess now, between the arguments and phone calls and how wrapped up in Allen's life he'd suddenly become. The uncertainty he felt when he thought of Allen in general was unsettling to say the least.

"What about your other arm?" Kanda asked suspiciously.

"It's the same," Allen muttered quickly but didn't let Kanda near it. He didn't obviously want to look at that mutilation again, so he didn't question Allen's unwillingness to show him.

"Did this happen before or after I called you?" Kanda asked, his words tinted with a bit of anger. The fact that Allen didn't trust him enough to ask for his help turned his concern to anger, but the thought of trust always circled back to Kanda's own hypocritical stance.

"Before, but-"

"Don't try to make an excuse for this! I thought you were dead today; I mean that. You wouldn't pick up the phone for Lenalee all day, and last night no matter how lighthearted you tried to act, I could tell how serious it was. Do you realize," he stopped yelling and tightened his fists, "do you realize how powerless it can make someone feel when they're on the other end of a phone call with someone dying?" No, he wasn't angry; he was genuinely hurt. He was hurt over someone who hadn't even existed in his head as a worthy acquaintance just days earlier.

"I'm sorry," Allen said quietly.

"Sorry? Are you apologizing for being mutilated?" _Damn that Cross. If I ever meet him again, I'll definitely rip his head off. The fact he can't even tell I'm worried just shows how little he's been cared for his entire life._

Kanda felt sick to his stomach when he realized that Allen would end up returning to that wretched house if he didn't do something. They'd all go over to that stupid rabbit's house for editing tonight, but what then?

* * *

_"Sorry to interrupt, but I couldn't help but to notice those lovely marks you've got on your arms."_

Allen blinked at Kanda in confusion, who still had the same look of pure anger and contempt and sadness. _No one's ever really cared for me. No, This isn't the same thing; he hates me, no, I bet he regrets even calling me. He isn't involved because he wants to be._

He jumped when he felt icy fingers on his skin and looked over at a now visible figure on the pew next to him. It only took a few seconds for the specter to morph from a white shadow into a full-fledged person._ In a jester outfit?_

"Exorcism marks, right? No," his sleeve rolled up by itself and the bandages lifted up, "reverse exorcism marks? Someone's been a naughty boy."

"E-excuse me?" Allen said through chattering teeth and trembling skin. These ghosts sure do sap the heat from the air. The man, or a boy rather, looked only about twenty years old, lean and dressed up as if he just came from a carnival. In a red and yellow striped jumpsuit with a three pointed hat adorned with little bells on it and the curled shoes, he matched the deck of cards portrayal perfectly.

"Oh, right, I forgot my introduction. I'm the guy from the board. Well, I was, until Mary took the cursor from me!" He grumbled that last part and Allen heard an off tune piano note from somewhere upstairs.

"Mary," Allen repeated dumbfounded. _There's more than one ghost here?_

"She just sits and cries at the piano, poor girl. Looks like she was only seventeen when she died, but the constant sobbing gets annoying after a decade though," he said matter-of-factly. The mannerisms of this ghost were a lot like a regular person, and he was so realistic that he could've easily fooled Allen like the little girl had.

He dramatically grabbed right through his chest and moaned, "Lost lovers separated by heaven and hell!"

"You're pretty laid back," Allen said while laughing nervously.

"Really? I'm just excited we have visitors. Especially during a storm!"

"Why does the storm matter?"

"You don't know much about this ghost business, do you?" The ghost said while looking at Allen curiously. He couldn't deny it; he hadn't actually believed in ghosts as a kid.

"Hey, angry Japanese kid, you should go upstairs and check on your friends. They're probably still crying," he said with a wink.

"You messed with Lenalee and Lavi?" Allen said a little more angrily than he should have.

"Hey, hey, don't get so angry! They weren't doing anything but eating snacks and playing on their phones. Begging for it, if you ask me. If you're going to visit a persons' house you should expect a little hospitality from the owner." Kanda, completely out of his league as Allen carried on a conversation with seemingly no one, went upstairs in an angry and confused huff.

* * *

The ghost yawned and got comfortable on the pew. "Lovely place, I've got here, huh? This church has been my home for about a century by now."

Allen couldn't imagine being stuck in one place for so long. "I don't understand exactly how you ended up like this. Or any ghosts for that matter."

He cracked his knuckles and stretched before starting what seemed to be an extremely long-winded explanation. "Being rooted here for so long has made me an aficionado in the study of ghosts, so lets start this lesson off with the creation of us horrible, paranormal creatures. As you can probably expect, not everyone ends up stuck in this state of limbo. Where you go afterward beats me; hopefully somewhere with more space."

"Back on topic, ghosts are basically souls chained to the earth for three main reasons. Either someone's will, whether it is a loved one or a desolate friend, keeps the "memory" of a person alive. Not sure what happens to the host who calls the soul back, though. Two, when a person dies with still such a ferocity for life, they end up being stuck in limbo and unable to accept their death. And lastly, there are the poor saps that haven't realized they've died and wander aimlessly in a dream world. I'm sure there are special cases, but not any I've encountered."

Allen wondered what exactly caused this ghost to be stuck here, but wasn't really sure how polite it was to ask how someone died. Might be a little too soon for that subject.

"Moving right along: types of spirits. You've got your weak folks, unable to even break out of the casket, who just moan and sob beneath the ground. Then, over time, the more resilient ghosts grow strong enough to move around and end up "stuck" per say, in a certain localized area. For example, with a couple of decades under my belt, I'm a pretty strong ghost, something you might call a level two. The problem with resilient and localized spirits is that they take out their boredom on anyone nearby, often doing violent and nasty things. I just stick to harmless pranks for the poor ghost hunters who visit. And this eventually brings us to," he stopped for a moment and looked a bit remorseful.

"The people who go insane. Being a ghost isn't exactly a nice gig, and many are adopted by a man who goes by the name of the Millennium Earl. It's not even proper to call them a ghost anymore; I usually refer the wayward souls as demons or akuma. It's often the ones who have only been dead for a couple of days or weeks, unable to stand their horrible existence. Basically how it works, the decrepit souls who would do anything to escape this state of limbo make a deal with a devil and turn into monstrous machines hell-bent on destroying as many humans as possible until they run out of life energy and self destruct. The longer a spirits been around, the more power it develops. Some of us actually end up getting special abilities."

_The ghost in the basement wasn't very old, was it? The janitor only died a couple of weeks before, and his daughter even sooner. They wouldn't stand a chance against a real berserk ghost._

"Mary, the girl upstairs, is on the verge of losing her sanity. I wouldn't come back here if I were you."

"Isn't there anything I can do?"

"I've heard rumors of people called exorcists. Apparently they can free ghost's souls and send us straight on to the other side. Speaking of exorcists, I've got to say I'm curious about those marks you've got there. Trying to communicate to someone, right?" He started tracing Allen's scarred arm again.

"They weren't done by me," Allen muttered. _Would you please not do that?_ He thought uncomfortably as he got goosebumps from the icy touch.

"So someone used you as a catalyst. Do you see how these crosses are upside down to the viewer? That means that they reversed the energy flow from evil exiting the body and instead letting it in. Someone was trying to put a powerful ghost in you, man. What else happened?"

"Ah, he cracked a wine bottle over my head first," Allen said while grimacing at how ridiculous this situation was.

"Wine? Are you serious? Do you know what that means?" The ghost was beyond intrigued at this point and leaned in to get a better look at the curse mark on Allen's face. When Allen shook his head in a response no, the ghost sighed at his pure lack of knowledge.

"Wine represents the blood of Jesus Christ, you know, the churchgoers drink it every time they go and so on. It's almost as if you received a reverse baptism with wine as a substitute for holy water. Whoever did this meant business, and was conjuring a ghost of a higher caliber than I know of. This isn't something you do for a lost friend, this is going right behind the Earl's back," the ghost said nervously and drew back. Going around the Earl?

_If it wasn't for Mana, then who was it for?_

"At any rate, you've got a knack for seeing ghosts, huh? Did you just wake up one morning and tell your parents, "I see dead people"? Nah, I'm kidding. It probably has something to do with the curse embedded in your eye."

"You know something about my eye?"_ A curse?_ Kanda said something about a curse the first time he met him, too. _Which means Kanda knows more than he's letting on._

"Yeah, but," he stopped when there was a loud bang upstairs. There was a crescendo of off-key piano notes, followed by some ear-splitting shrieks.

"Here we go again," the ghost said while rolling his eyes.

"Again? Shouldn't we go try to help her?" Allen said sympathetically and stood up.

"She's like this every night. Why else do you think this place has a reputation of being haunted? I'll go check on her, but," he paused while grimacing, "it'd be better if you four left now. No telling when she'll go berserk. Mind you, she's got a good several years on her, and that's something you can't outrun."

He followed the ghost up the creaky stairs, almost putting his foot through a hole where a missing step should be. As soon as he stepped to the safety of the balcony, tremors overtook the entire building, shaking it to the very foundation.

"Not, good, Allen! Go now," the ghost yelled.

"I can't just leave Lenalee and Kanda and Lavi," Allen protested. The ghost chased after him as he ran down the hall to where he could hear the faint calls of the other three.

When he opened the door, the moonlit window illuminated a scene he could've never imagined. Vines and weeds were sprouting through floorboards and hanging down the ceiling, completely entangling the entire room. There were only hints of wallpaper behind the layers and layers of roots and vines, and when he looked back into the hall, he realized that it was spreading throughout the church.

"Kanda! Lenalee! Lavi!" Allen yelled when he noticed them on the far side of the barren room that only held a broken piano, which was slowly being engulfed into the system of plants. They were all tied up in twisted and mangled vines, each struggling in a different way. Lenalee was crying while the vines started to constrict her, Kanda was cursing in multiple languages and putting all his strength into forcing the vines back, while Lavi much more frantic and animate in his attempt to escape, calling out for Allen even before he came in the room.

"Allen!" Lenalee cried out as her legs started to entangle with the floor.

"Hold on, hold on, hold on. A beautiful girl such as yourself should never be in tears!" The ghost tried to make light of the situation but was in obvious worry too. Instead of running over to help, he acted as if he were about to start a grand trick. From beneath his sleeve he began pulling tied, multicolored fabric out until it was a couple of feet long.

"Ta-dah!"

"Is this some sort of joke?" Kanda grunted through his constricted airways.

The ghost just hummed and ripped the long piece of fabric into three different parts, then promptly walked over to the cowering Lenalee. He gingerly tied it like a bandana around her neck, and then suddenly she stopped crying out in pain. After doing the same for Lavi and Kanda, they all looked around dumbfounded at each other.

"I am a ghost of many tricks and trades my fellow ghost hunters. And for my first act: the rope of translucency!"

A silence fell over the group and they looked at each other in a silent agreement that they were doomed.

"Not impressed? Well, I'll have you know that fabric I tied around your necks gives you a "ghost-like" status. You're impervious to wounds like that and won't be crushed to death! But," he frowned and pulled a little at the roots that wouldn't give way.

"These vines are strengthened with something that negates that power. Meaning I can't pass through it, and you can't untangle yourselves until we do something about the source."

"Mary? Do you think she's turned into an akuma? But-" Allen stopped when he heard the cracking and decay of loose vines. Looking down, he realized the ground beneath him was decaying at an alarming rate, and within seconds, he was falling right through the floor.

* * *

He fell not so gracefully down through the floorboards, and not into the main room of the church like he'd expected. He was in a different alcove completely. Did this church have a basement?

He shook his head in embarrassment when he realized that he was completely lost.

Regardless of where the room once was, it was now a haven for gigantic roots and weeds and rotting vines. There wasn't a square inch of the space that wasn't lined with some sort of plant. He tripped a couple of times while trying to regain his bearings in the dark and silent space. The floor was like a knotted hiking trail just made to entangle up his feet. Looking up, he could vaguely see the hole he'd fallen down, and it looked like he'd gone much farther beneath the church than he'd expected. The farther he stumbled through the mass of roots on the ground, the thicker and denser they became until he finally saw her.

A girl, surrounded by a circular pattern of vines weaved around her, was crying quietly. An akuma? No, she seemed to still have a bit of sanity left in her. _It's not too late,_ he thought,_ I could save her! But how?_

Allen started picking through the vines and called out to her, causing her to snap her head around and look at him with demonic, black eyes. Her mouth was spewing black blood and whatever soul still left in her was dwindling away. With a flick of the wrist, she shot a vine out at Allen and scraped right past his shoulder.

"We aren't your enemy, Mary!" He said as he dodged an onslaught of vine whips.

"I want you all to die," she growled back while more black liquid dribbled off her chin. The black gunk was dripping from the corners of her eyes now, like distorted tears that stained her skin. _Is it some sort of poison rotting her insides?_ While Allen was caught off guard, she managed to land a direct hit in the middle of his stomach and he flew backward, smashing into the back wall. Before he could recover, a vine entangled itself around his ankle and started dragging him across the thorny and distorted floor.

Suddenly he was dangling upside down, face to face with the tortured girl. His left eye suddenly throbbed and he screamed in pain until it slowly recovered. When his vision returned, a purple aura surrounded the girl. She was no longer a ghost or a conscious soul. _But what was he supposed to do? Is there a way to bring her back? _He wasn't about to kill anyone, even if he knew how_._

The girl stood up from her nest of vines and stepped daintily over to Allen, who was still being held upside down. As she got closer, he noticed how much her body was deteriorating with sores and cuts and bruises and blood everywhere. The same black ooze that was paining her lips was dripping from her wounds. Her eyes returned from their demonic darkness and to a soft blue. She looked at him for what seemed like an unbearable amount of time, and brushed the side of his face with a blackened hand. Whatever the black substance stung his skin and smelled faintly of blood.

"Where is it?" She asked.

"W-Where is what?" He replied, still a little uneasy talking to ghosts. _Especially the ones that should've already killed you_. What was with this sudden calmness?

She frailly touched Allen's left hand and pulled up the glove. "Hey, wait a second!"

The cross in his hand was glowing when she held his palm, and she looked back up at him. "Exorcist?"

"I'm no exorcist, miss, that's just a birth defect, I think," Allen said politely. When she traced her finger around the cross on his hand, a vibration went through his entire body, like a sudden shock of energy.

"Your friends upstairs," she looked back at Allen dreamily, "are going to suffocate to death. But how do I kill you?" Without warning the vine threw him back against the wall. The thorny whips were forcefully ripping and tearing into his skin, and he screamed as one impaled itself right across his stomach.

"Your screams sound so lovely," she yelled while laughing, and he watched the demonic aura return and the protective vines she once had around her were now hell-bent on ripping Allen to shreds.

_I have to think of something_, he thought as he came to a struggling stand. Looking down at his hand, he realized it was glowing brighter than it ever had. A strange, instinctual urge for survival came over him, and when the next set of razor-sharp vines headed straight for his face, he threw his arms in front of his face and braced for his own death.

There was a bright flash, followed by a clang of metal, and the moment ended with the screams of Mary. When Allen reopened his eyes, his left arm was no longer the same distorted one it had been five minutes ago; it resembled a claw like form coated in a metallic silver. The cross imbedded in his hand was even larger and brighter, and the joint where the metallic skin stopped and met his shoulder was lit up with a bright green luminescence.

"W-What the hell is going on?"

He wanted to scream in sheer terror at the fact his arm just morphed into a gigantic claw, but the ghost gave him no time to cope with where his mental stability stood. She started shrieking while throwing an onslaught of roots at him. He deftly swung his left arm, which was much quicker than he expected, and sliced the vines right in half while sending himself spinning from the weight imbalance. _How do you use this thing?!_

'What," he was panting and out of breath as the girl was beginning to attack from the front and behind, "is going on?!"

"You liar! You're an exorcist, one of God's chosen! Meanwhile, that bastard of a God left me here to rot with my broken heart! Die!"

Focusing on instincts and not reality, he dodged left, right, and left until he was face to face with the girl. _My body's moving faster than it ever has before_. He landed a direct hit on the girl and then ripped at the vines right from the source: her palms.

Without really knowing what he was doing, he calmed himself down until the strange weapon disappeared and his arm returned to normal. With the cross still glowing brightly, he placed a hand gingerly on the broken and defeated spirit's forehead. The cross grew brighter when it touched her, and Allen said the only response he could muster, "I am so sorry."

_This isn't fair,_ he thought. _No one deserves this. _He didn't realize how much he was trembling and tearing up until a tear dripped down his chin.

Her body instantly reacted to his touch, turning from its mangled black and purple figure to a bright white. The vines that sprung from her palms started to decay right from the source, and the greenery faded to brown. Within a few seconds, the roots began to turn to ash.

"Allen Walker," she said weakly.

He nodded his head in response. "You deserve a good rest. You aren't forsaken and alone; in fact, you had a love, didn't you? He's waiting for you in the next life, and I hope you find happiness there. No, I'm sure you will find happiness." She started to cry, and Allen couldn't say he knew what he was talking about, but it's what he wanted to believe when he thought of Mana. Every soul has to have a form of salvation.

"Thank you," she whispered, and wrapped her arms around him. As he held the weak figure of light, she slowly dissolved into the darkness.

Once her body completely disappeared within his arms, and he could sense no trace left of her, he fell to his knees in relief. He was bleeding everywhere, with deep scrapes from where every vine sliced at him, and was definitely on the verge of losing consciousness.

"Allen!"

He looked around and saw the same jester ghost, looking around at the carnage still left in the room. Some of the roots hadn't fully decayed yet, and Allen was covered in blood.

"Joker, you were right," Allen said weakly while laughing.

"About what? Man, how'd you calm her down, anyway?" He said while helping Allen up.

"I think," he paused to cough up a little blood, "I think I'm an exorcist."

"Seriously? I came down here to find you after the vines upstairs started decaying. Everyone's safe," the ghost said much to Allen's relief.

"I, I mean my arm," Allen stopped. He actually had no idea what happened. As long as everyone was safe, that was all that mattered.

The ghost gave a faux bow and then joined hands with Allen. Before Allen could ask what he was doing, the cross on his left hand burned brightly once again, and the ghost said, "Mr. Exorcist, will you finally free me?"

Allen smiled softly and closed his eyes, concentrating on the feeling he'd had when he placed his hand on Mary. A sudden burst of light erupted from their clasped hands, green and warm and inviting. It felt pure, above all, as if his entire body reduced into the serenity of God's grace.

When he reopened his eyes, the Joker had a smile painted on his skin and was slowly starting to fade away into bright crystals.

"May we meet again, Allen Walker, in a better place."

There was a sudden burst of light that blinded him, and when he finally could see again, the Joker's Cheshire smile faded into the darkness. The second the ghost disappeared, Allen's weariness returned. Moonlight was filtering in through a hole in the roofing of the basement, presumably the one he fell through, and the storm had passed.

There was a shadow of a man through the moonlight, rather robust with what looked like a parasol. He's been watching me, hasn't he? But who is he?

He could faintly hear the calls of Lenalee and the others, but it became warped by a ringing in his ears. The corners of his vision blurred until the dark of the night swept into his lungs, and he collapsed into an unconscious state.

_Everything was going to be okay._

* * *

**This has been my favorite chapter to write so far. Extremely long, I know, but I couldn't bear to split it up. Anyway, Allen's exorcist status is revealed! Too bad that's only scratching the surface of this plot. (Oh, and if you're wondering why I put vague and one worded chapter titles, it's for the new readers so I don't spoil anything. You probably weren't wondering.)**

**Anyway, what does Kanda know? What is Kanda actually up to, a question that still hasn't been answered?! Cross, who were you trying to summon? Last but certainly not least, what does the appearance of the Earl mean in this story?!**

**(As always, I want to thank you amazing reviewers and followers and readers in general. I probably say this too much, but you guys are amazing.)**


	8. Burning

"Is he going to do this every time?" Kanda grumbled.

After playing rock, paper, scissors to see who would venture down to the basement to find Allen, or at least his corpse, Lavi was forced to jump down the hole. He carefully made his way through the rotten roots and found the unconscious Allen with a playing card daintily placed in his hand. With all the heroic strength Lavi could muster, he clumsily dragged him back out and to the front steps of the church. From the outside, the tangling and intertwining vines were visible as they wrapped around the church in dead ropes, but it was obvious the source of the destruction was long gone.

"I'm totally keeping this!" Lavi said excitedly as he inspected the vintage Joker card. He also held the three scarves the first ghost had given them and considered using one of them as a new headband.

"We managed to save most of the cameras, too!" Lenalee said, matching his excitement as she held the bag full of equipment.

They started their long walk back to campus at two in the morning, hoping to make it to Lavi's dorm before anything else could go wrong. Kanda couldn't match the enthusiasm of the two who narrowly escaped death; they didn't even think to question what happened. _Idiots._ Meanwhile, burning questions were weighing heavily on his thoughts.

Kanda followed a little farther behind the other two wrapped up in ghost stories and excitement. He'd gotten the lovely job of carrying the limp body of Allen all the way back, who was much lighter than he'd expected. Princess-style was a lot easier than trying to balance the unconscious kid on his back, but looking him was almost unbearable. His skin was so pale and scratched, and his face was such a distortion of grief and sorrow. However, there was a radiating innocence, purity so rare and intense in form that left Kanda more peaceful than he should've been. He pushed some of Allen's stray, silken hair out of his face and got a closer look at the scar. It was peculiarly different from before; the strange star-like mark seemed darker and filled in instead of the usual thin outline.

_How did I suddenly end up responsible for this kid? _Technically, he didn't even need to bother caring; Allen made that point very clear in almost every confrontation they had. There really wasn't any gain for Kanda; there was no purpose for him to meddle in Allen's affairs._ Then why can't I just stay away? Jesus Christ, this idiot is going to get me killed._

"Kanda, don't look so concerned. I'm sure he's fine, just like last time," Lenalee said cheerfully.

"I'm not concerned! I'm just pissed off that I have to carry him once again," Kanda snapped. In fact, Kanda was disgusted; he'd failed to protect any of them, and worst of all, he had no solution to prevent Allen from going back home.

* * *

"Ah, it's good to be home," Lavi said as he plopped down on his bed with a long and exaggerated yawn.

"Don't get too comfortable, Lavi, because we have a lot of editing to do," Lenalee scolded while taking out all the salvaged cameras and devices.

"Oh, you can just set him on the couch. I'm sure he'll be all smiles and cheer in an hour or two," Lenalee said when she noticed Kanda awkwardly holding Allen's limp body.

He was reluctant to put Allen down, but managed not to show it as he lowered him down to the sofa. Almost instantly, Kanda missed the closeness and warmth of being near him; whatever strange energy radiating from him was oddly comforting. _He's just one disaster after another; why do I keep getting involved?_

Snapping out of his trance, he pulled out a voice recorder that had Lavi's name taped to it. It only took him a couple of seconds to figure out it was just a bunch of celebrity impressions and, not being able to find the off button fast enough, he threw it across the room. The impact of the recorder nearly knocked Lavi over when it collided with his head. He, however, paid no mind to Kanda and continued to draw on Allen's face with a magic marker.

"Too bad we didn't have a camera with Allen when he got lost," she said disappointed while watching the film of the Ouija board.

"Lavi, Kanda, come look at this!" She said, rewinding the tape in awe.

Kanda listened to Allen tampering with the board already, and ignored her offer. A buzzing in his pocket gave him an excuse to step outside, and he picked up the phone almost immediately.

"Kanda! How've you been doing, man?" He rolled his eyes and considered hanging up.

"So talkative, as usual. Look, I've got a lead on your problem."

"I'm listening," Kanda said in an annoyed tone. Late night phone calls with Daisya always seemed to put him off; no, conversations with Daisya in general pissed him off.

"So you _are_ interested! 'Pretty sure we know where it is. When you are you coming back to work, anyway?"

"Who has it? I'll go now."

"Whoa, whoa, hold on. The Finders have worked hard and finally found a lead on the black market for a priceless Japanese katana. It was sold to someone we couldn't track, but now it's turned up in a purchase to the Mikk family. Those bastards probably bought it on purpose Kanda; you can't just go barging in there. The security is too tight, even for you."

"Daisya, I'm not just going to sit here and wait around. I want my damn sword back." The haunting memory of being jumped by those two idiots in that alleyway was still fresh in his mind. Their identities were still a mystery, but there wasn't anything the Finders couldn't sniff out eventually. Once he had their names, he was going to personally torture them until they begged for death. However, they still won back in the alley, blind-siding him and stealing his weapon. He woke up to find his sword missing, and to Allen standing over him.

"We're going to send in a tight unit tonight, Kanda. Rest easy, and we'll have your precious Mugen back by sunrise."

Kanda didn't like leaving his sword's fate up to anyone else. "Tch."

"A simple, "thank you" would be nice. I put a lot of work into this, you know! Everyone was about to just tell you to suck it up and-"

"Thanks," he muttered half-heartedly and hung up.

* * *

When he walked back in, he noticed Allen was already awake and helping Lenalee write the report. Somehow he'd gotten the marker off, much to Lavi's dismay.

"Yuu, you need to help too," Lavi said, even though he was just playing with the video camera.

"You said I wouldn't have to do any work. And don't call me that!"

Sighing when he realized that he _did_ promise Kanda that, Lavi continued to goof off in silence.

"I'm glad you're safe, Kanda," Allen said brightly while smiling in his direction. Allen slipped the paper over to Lenalee, who read over it and then stacked it into the pile they'd created.

"Well, that's that. I'm going home to get some sleep; I've only got a couple of hours until track practice," Lenalee said while putting all the papers into one folder. _She's really going back to a normal routine after last night? Nothing seems to faze these three._

"I'll take care of the equipment now, so no one knows it went missing," Lavi said while packing it all up.

"What?!" Lenalee and Allen yelled unison. Kanda just shook his head; he should've expected as much.

"Turns out there's already a paranormal club, and I, well, _borrowed_ some things we needed," Lavi said with a wink.

"I ought to be heading home too," Allen said. He didn't so much as look in Kanda's direction, purposefully so, and they all gathered up their things.

Once Lavi locked the door and raced off, Lenalee gave them both a forced hug and ran off toward the girls' dorms. If Komui found her out this late, it wouldn't be pretty. As the other two disappeared from sight, Allen and Kanda were left standing in the hall.

"No."

"No, what?" Allen asked innocently.

"I'm not letting you go back there, I mean, look at your arms!" Allen pulled up his torn sleeve and smiled while pointing at his bare right arm. He was a little too happy for Kanda's taste.

"I noticed this when I woke up! Look!" Allen grabbed one end of the bandage and twirled the fabric on his arm around until it was completely unwrapped. Much to Kanda's surprise, the only thing left on his arm was a bloodstain; there wasn't so much as a scratch or a scar. Kanda touched his arm in disbelief, but the skin was smooth. This wasn't a trick, but Allen shouldn't have a regenerative ability;_ that's impossible._

Kanda warily looked over Allen once or twice; something in his whole demeanor had changed. It was like his sense of optimism had suddenly returned. "How?"

"I'm not really sure, but the point is I'm fine and need answers more than sleep," Allen said while crossing his arms in something that resembled a typical Kanda move.

"Most importantly, you need to stay alive," Kanda replied sharply.

Allen opened his mouth to protest, but Kanda continued, "Don't go saying, "I can take care of myself", or, "it's none of your business". I will lock you in my bathroom if I have to."

"Always so dramatic, Kanda. I'll call you when I get home if it'll make you feel better," Allen said while rolling his eyes.

* * *

He kicked the door again. "Let me out, BaKanda!"

_Kanda wasn't kidding when he threatened to lock me in the bathroom, _Allen thought miserably. After a good thirty minutes of fist fighting in the hallway, Kanda finally got the upper hand and dragged Allen all the way over to his dorm room. Sitting on the cool tile of Kanda's bathroom, he sighed for the millionth time as Kanda refused to answer him.

Meanwhile, Kanda, on the other side of the door, was sitting cross-legged with a book on his lap. Homework was his only option at this point since he had nothing better to do. Obviously, he wasn't getting any sleep with this racket.

Allen looked around the bathroom for any form of entertainment, but eventually found himself debating whether drowning in the bathtub would be more interesting than sitting here.

_Wait, his phone!_

He grinned in victory and flipped it out, first dialing Lenalee.

"Allen? It's three in the morning," she said sleepily.

"Kanda locked me in his bathroom, Lenalee! Send help and-"

"Who are you talking to?" Kanda said through the door.

"I'll save you, Allen!" Lenalee said as she quickly changed out of her pajamas and ran toward the boys' dorms.

"Think you can outsmart me? Don't make me laugh," Kanda said, and Allen heard the noises of dial tones.

"Yes, can I speak to Principal Komui?" Kanda was lowering his voice on purpose so his usual irritable tone wouldn't be recognized.

"Who is this? If you're prank-calling me, I'll have you know-"

"No, sir, I just happened to notice Lenalee Lee leaving her dorm at a rather _risqué_ time of night, and-"

Allen heard screaming on the other end of the line, and Kanda hung up with a satisfied click. It only took a minute or two before Lenalee was knocking on the door, yelling, "Kanda! Let Allen out!"

It took even less time for Komui to show up. Allen pressed his hands over his ears to try to relieve some of the pain from Komui's yells. His rather horrifying descriptions of fantasies that Lenalee could possibly be doing at this hour were making Allen want to scream, too. The yelling was followed by sobs due to his extravagant nightmare of a secret relationship between Kanda and Lenalee. Kanda shook his head in embarrassment; Lenalee would definitely not his first choice in women. In fact, he wasn't even sure of his standpoint on relationships, because no one interested him in the slightest.

The shrieks of Lenalee echoed down the hall as she was toted away over the horrified principal's shoulder.

"You think I'll give up that easy?" Allen said, angered by the fact Lenalee was now in trouble, and at the fact Kanda was laughing at him. He dialed the second best number, Lavi.

"Lavi! Kanda's trapped me in his dorm!"

"Eh?! That's happened to me before. The bathroom, right? I'm on my way!" Lavi didn't even bother changing out of his pajamas and ran to Allen's aid while staying on the phone. _Happened to him before?_

"Lavi Bookman?"

"Who's that, Lavi?" Allen asked when he heard a strange voice talking to Lavi through the phone.

"You're out of luck, Allen," Kanda said from the other side of the door. Did he set something else up? Allen honestly wasn't aware that Kanda was so evil.

The same voice from before came out of his phone again, along with the sound of cracking knuckles. "We've heard you've started your own little paranormal club, Lavi. And you know what we think of that?"

Lavi frantically replied to Allen, "It's the original Ghosts and Spirits Club! Abort mission, I repeat, abort mission, Allen! I'm sorr-" The line cut out. Allen banged his head against the door in defeat.

"Are you finished?" Kanda asked. Allen didn't have the strength to reply; he was too depressed about the idea of another six hours left in here.

He took off his glove and looked at his arm; the cross wasn't glowing anymore, and the scars were gone. So why did he still feel so strange? Something he'd resented all his life, this horrible arm, suddenly gave his life a purpose. _Is this what you wanted of me, Mana? _

_And why did no one tell me sooner?_ It suddenly occurred to him that Cross had probably known all along about this, but he put aside that anger for a better time.

If he just activated his arm then he could break out of here, but who knows how Kanda would react. Technically, he didn't even know how it worked, anyway; there wasn't exactly anyone to ask about this. Agreeing with himself that it wouldn't go well, he went over to the bathtub.

"You've left me no choice, Kanda. I'm just going to have drown myself," Allen called out dramatically and started the water.

"You can't drown yourself. It's impossible," Kanda replied sharply.

"With a will, there's a way," Allen grumbled. He heard Kanda shift outside the door; maybe this could work. If he could convince Kanda he was drowning, then he would have to open the door, and then he could escape. Even knowing that this was far-fetched and stupid, he had nothing left to lose and was too bored to care.

He stuck his head under the water and waited patiently.

"Allen?" His lungs stung, but he had to push through it. This was going to work.

"It's not going to work, and you're just going to look like an idiot." When Allen didn't reply again, Kanda made his typical noise of contempt but didn't make a move to open the door.

"When you do pass out I'll come in I might get you." _He's bluffing_, Allen thought.

_Okay this is starting to hurt. But I won't give in to Kanda!_

After another long period of silence, Kanda looked at his watch. That's the normal amount of time it takes a human to pass out without oxygen. He stood up, stretched, and leisurely unlocked the door.

"You've got to be the biggest idiot I know," Kanda said and pulled his head out of the water by his hair. _He's got determination, all right,_ Kanda thought while wondering if Allen was actually still alive. He put his head on Allen's chest; there's still a heartbeat, at least.

_Weren't you supposed to give CPR in situations like this?_ Kanda looked at Allen, who was definitely not breathing. He wiped his wet, silver hair from his face and absent-mindedly noticed the scar on his forehead once again; had it really changed? He distinctly remembered the star not being filled in; in fact, it was just a thin redlined pentagram above his eye when they first met. The water washed off what was left of Allen's makeup, too, and once again revealing the cuts and bruises. His lips were painted in a faint blush, fading ever so slightly with every moment. Was he really supposed to-?

Nope_. No way in hell I'm doing that._

He reached into the hall and grabbed his textbook, raising it over his head and then dropping it square on Allen's chest. Like a light switch, Allen rose from the dead gasping for air while coughing up water. Amidst his coughing fit, Kanda dropped a blanket on the now dripping Allen and left, locking the door behind him.

"Goodnight, Allen," Kanda said, and smirked as he fell into bed.

* * *

The sunrise eventually came, and instead of sleeping, Kanda stared at his phone expectantly from beneath the covers. Daisya would call any minute now.

His attention was drawn back to Allen having another nightmare in the bathroom. What the issue was, he wasn't sure, but Allen hadn't stopped lashing out in his sleep for the past two hours. Kanda threw his pillow at the door and yelled, "Would you quit it already?"

Realizing his mistake almost immediately when he heard Allen groaning, he sighed and hung his head over the edge of the bed, letting all his hair fall over. Allen was awake now. It only took seconds before Allen was yelling in a sleepy incoherent tone. "Kanda, I swear, I'm going to-"

When a vibration started to shake his nightstand, Kanda snatched his phone and ignored Allen's death threats from beyond the door. Without waiting to put a shirt on, he answered the phone and stepped outside.

"Daisya!"

"Kanda, no time for that. Listen," Daisya sounded like he was in pain, and Kanda heard his struggling and shallow breaths. There a strange noise at the other end of the line that he couldn't identify; did he have a bad connection? Who knew how to work these damn phones anymore.

"Did you find it?" He asked, trying not to sound impatient.

Daisya finally answered weakly, "Yeah, we found it. Or saw it really; we didn't even get close. Look, whatever you do, don't come looking because-"

"Are you in trouble? I'll head over there now," Kanda replied, blatantly ignoring his warning. He heard Daisya talking to someone on the other end, and then unholy screaming.

"Daisya, what's happening? Talk to me!" There was a crunching sound, and Kanda winced in disgust as the definite sound of a neck snapping was audible through the phone. Then a silence creeped up from both sides of the phone call.

"Good luck on getting your sword back, samurai. I hope to see you and Allen this weekend," a voice said and then promptly dropped the phone. The sound of footsteps crunching on gravel slowly faded until silence overtook the phone call.

"Answer me, Daisya." Kanda fell to his knees; he knew that there would be no response.

"Daisya?" The phone continued to play silence.

"Aha!" Allen threw open the door in triumph with a blanket tied like a cape, but abruptly stopped his daring escape when he saw Kanda kneeled before the door in complete despair.

"What's wrong?" Allen asked, tone quickly shifting from excitement to concern.

That was Tyki's voice, Kanda realized. _Tyki killed Daisya_. Realizing the entire thing was a set-up, he smashed his phone on the ground, causing Allen to jump back. _Tyki was just toying with me, and now Daisya is dead because of it._

"I just asked what's wrong!" Allen yelled in response as he jumped back.

Why'd he mention Allen? He looked up at the other; Allen looked like he'd been hit by a train wreck. Oh yeah, he drowned last night. Almost forgot.

"Nothing," Kanda muttered. _Daisya is dead._

"So, you're trying to tell me that you have a murderous look in your eyes and smashed your phone over nothing."

Why was Allen always in the middle of things? Right now, Tyki probably had Allen's trust, and he also knew that Kanda obviously cared about the idiot whether he liked it or not. _Did that make Allen some sort of leverage against me?_

"My friend is dead," Kanda said quietly. _Allen is going to end up dead, no matter what I do to stop it. Tyki decided his fate a long time ago._

* * *

Allen hadn't the slightest clue as to what was going on, but running off now didn't seem like the best time. He followed Kanda back inside, picking up the smashed phone for him. The look of terror and pure anger written all over Kanda's face was a little intimidating, but he still silently sat next to him on the bed. _It's the same look he had when he saw my arms,_ Allen thought.

Asking if he wanted to talk about it, or maybe if he was okay, were the first two thoughts that crossed Allen's mind. However, he knew the answer would obviously be a sharp "no" to both questions. The real question gnawing at him was why had he heard Tyki's voice over the phone? Kanda wasn't exactly being quiet out in the hall, and could clearly hear his voice just before he opened the door.

If Tyki was involved on his friend's death, then that explains why Kanda hated him so much._ Why didn't he just tell me?_ It was obvious now that there was a lot more to this than anyone trusted him to know. _Damn it, why am I always in the middle of everything?_

"Kanda," Allen said quietly after about an hour of silence. Kanda looked like he was going to turn to stone and had his arms wrapped tightly around his knees. He slowly looked up and over at Allen, with an emptiness that snapped Allen's confidence in half.

"Let's go get some coffee before mid-day classes start. Staying in here is only going to make it worse," he said. It took Kanda a few seconds to process his words, but he eventually stood up and put on a new shirt.

"I still have your jacket," Kanda said quietly, and handed it back over to him. Allen thanked him and put it on over his ripped clothes; it smelled like roses.

* * *

Allen couldn't pay attention for more than a passing moment in class today, which basically put him on par with all the other students. Lavi had a black eye and multiple other bruises from his encounter with the other paranormal club; _apparently_ they weren't too fond of a rival club. Lenalee almost broke out into tears when she saw the Allen. It's a good thing he only had one class on Sundays; after this period ended, he could head straight out the front door and finally get the answers from Cross he needed.

An ear-splitting announcement shattered his daydream of escaping the school building. In a very exasperated tone, Principal Komui shouted, "Allen Walker please come to the principal's office. I repeat, Allen Walker to the principal's office!"

"What'd you do, man?" Lavi whispered in disbelief. Allen felt his face grow hot but just shook his head in confusion as a response; maybe Komui knew they were down in the basement. No, then all four of them would be in trouble. He hadn't even skipped class yet this year; what was he actually in trouble for?

Miranda excused him out of the class, assuring him that everything was fine, and he stepped out into the empty hall. He started his dismal trip down the hall in the direction he assumed was the correct way and listened to various shouting from the classrooms ahead of him.

"You know you can't smoke in here! Get out!" Tyki held up his hands in mock apology and swaggered out into the hall with a cigarette still lit.

"I will not put up with such blatant disrespect. Get your ass out of my classroom!" Kanda slammed the classroom door behind him.

Allen had two options: run like hell in the other direction or try to politely slip around the confrontation.

"Beansprout?"

"Hey, little bishounen, what are you in trouble for?" Tyki said while waving. Apparently he was not getting out of this one. Wait, _bishonen? _Even Kanda was surprised at the nickname.

"Not sure, but I guess I'll find out when I get there. I can't think of anything serious," Allen said while pondering over what it could possibly be.

Allen heard Kanda yell a string of profanities and sidestepped just in time to avoid a swinging fist headed for Tyki's face. Not even flinching, Tyki caught Kanda's fist with his palm and effectively crushed his knuckles until Kanda drew back in pain.

"Hey, stop it, you guys!" Allen yelled and pulled Kanda back before he could instigate it any further.

"You killed," Kanda stopped and clutched his hand in pain, "You fucking killed Daisya!"

Tyki's disposition shifted a little, and he eyed Allen, who wasn't as surprised as he expected._ It wasn't hard to put the puzzle pieces together. I'm not an idiot,_ Allen thought when both of them were surprised that Allen suspected Tyki of the murder.

He gave a nonchalant shrug and lit another cigarette. "Can't say I know what you're talking about."

"Bastard!" Kanda tried to hit him again, but Allen wrapped his arms around Kanda's waist and pulled him backward. His shoes were sliding on the tile flooring as Kanda pulled against him, but there was no way Allen was letting a fight break out between these two._ If Tyki truly did kill Daisya, then what was stopping him from taking out Kanda, too?_

"Kanda, this is neither the time or place for this! Back off!" Allen yelled.

Kanda noticed a flare of anger in Tyki's eyes; what was making him so angry all of a sudden? It only took a couple of seconds to process that Allen was the only variable in this situation._ Was he jealous that Allen was touching him?_ He smirked;_ Allen wasn't leverage against me but leverage against Tyki himself_.

"Come on, off to the principal's office, bean sprout," Kanda said sarcastically. _What's with that change in tone?_ Allen thought in confusion.

"I can make it there just fine myself, thanks," Allen said and started walking off.

"Wrong way, Allen," Tyki said while laughing, "Here, I'll show you the way."

"No," Kanda said quickly, "I'll take you."

Allen felt like smashing his head into a wall; they were passive-aggressively taking out their anger through him. Before he could protest and go by himself, Kanda promptly picked him up off the ground and hoisted him over his shoulder.

Allen started yelling and squirming, but was unable to escape Kanda's iron grip. "What the hell, Kanda! You can't just treat me like luggage!" Kanda looked curtly over at Tyki, whose aloof nature turned to a resenting facial expression.

Kanda gripped Allen's waist tighter, causing Allen to yell, "Let go of me, Kanda!"

He looked behind him once again, and Tyki was smiling once again, a crooked and twisted smirk, holding up a silver button.

Daisya's jacket button.

* * *

After being forced into the main office by Kanda, who wouldn't take a moment to discuss Allen's obvious frustration with him, he begrudgingly took a seat in front of Komui's desk. Desk being a loose term for a giant table stacked miles high with paperwork.

"Is he not in today?" Allen whispered to the secretary who walked by.

The attendant gave him a puzzled look, peeped behind the paperwork, and replied, "Oh, yes, he's here. Komui, wake up already!"

There was a loud yelp from behind the paperwork and the messy files all went flying, revealing a very disheveled man. He looked sleep deprived, with his hat slightly crooked and purple hair slightly unkempt beneath it._ Probably worrying all night about Lenalee,_ Allen thought in despair.

"Allen Walker," he started with, his voice coarse and unnerving.

"What did I do wrong, sir?" Allen asked as politely as possible.

"You didn't do anything wrong, not at all." He cleared his throat and looked at Allen for a few minutes while trying to gather the courage to say whatever he'd called him in for.

"It's come to my attention that it's no longer safe for you to live within your current situation. We're immediately taking you under the care of the school, which means-"

Allen stood up out of his chair and looked at him in complete shock. _No longer safe?_ Where did this suddenly come from?

"Hold on a second! What do you mean, "no longer safe"? Komui, sir, you can't-"

"Allen. A worried friend of yours tipped us off that you are in serious danger within your current living circumstances. Please try to understand," he said pleadingly. He could tell Komui was extremely broken up about this_; how did he know?_

Giving up his attempt at being polite, he replied, "Don't you have to have social workers, or some sort of legal process before you kick me out of my home? I'm perfectly fine!"

"Well, we would hire someone to look into it. Except after skimming your file, it turns out you have no official relation to Cross Marian, and therefore are illegally under his care. I could be overlook this for the sake of avoiding legal trouble, of course, but we can't overlook the potential harm that could happen to one of our best students. Allen," Komui looked at him with a heartbreaking expression, "abuse is no subject we can gloss over. I refuse to put up with this any longer, and I also refuse to willingly watch someone get hurt."

Allen felt his face flare up in anger and embarrassment. "Abuse? That's a lie! Someone probably said that just to-"

"Whether you want to deny it or not, it still doesn't change the fact that Marian has no legal claim over you. You'll officially be put under the school's care as of right now, and must stay on campus for the night. All documents relating you to Cross Marian will be disposed of as of tonight, too, and then we'll send someone over to collect your belongings." He fell back into his seat in disbelief. Who would tip Komui off?

_Kanda. Kanda set this all up._

"It's really not a big deal," Allen responded pleadingly. _Just when I'm finally moving forward, I get pulled right back down to where I started._

Suddenly there was an outburst from behind him. "How can you just say that? Allen, your face is a mess! You look like a skeleton, and worse, you smile all despite of it. It's terrifying to think you won't show up to my class one day, and that'll be the end of it. You'll be gone, and I'll never see you again, and I'll have to look at your empty seat every day and blame myself!" Where did Miranda come from? She was trembling and teary eyed, making Allen's anger dissolve into heartbreak.

"Miss Miranda," Allen said in shock. He didn't put on makeup today, did he? His reflection in the glass paneling in the office told him that he had no excuses left in this situation; the evidence was written all over his face.

"Miranda will show you to your dorm, Allen," Komui said quietly when Allen tore his eyes away from his reflection.

* * *

He locked the door quietly behind him and looked at the barren room. There was a bed with a simple nightstand next to it, a wardrobe, and a bathroom off to the left. He slipped his backpack off and fell to the floor, collapsing beneath the weight of his emotions. His head was a mess; this all came on so quick. Miranda, a teacher he liked but was never close to, even realized that he wasn't doing well. Did that mean Lavi and Lenalee were just pretending not to notice? Was it really that obvious?

For lack of anything better to do while under lockdown, he pulled his phone out.

**Lavi: Man, what'd they do you in for?**

**Lenalee: Are you okay, Allen? My brother won't tell me anything!**

Apparently they didn't know anything, then. Along with those two texts, he had a missed call from Kanda. Everything_ always_ seemed to circle back to Kanda. He had half a mind to call him back and yell every profanity he knew at him, but that seemed useless at this point. Everything was useless.

It was getting later and later into the night, and he eventually climbed onto his bed with his arms wrapped around his knees. _There has to be a way around this._

While deep in thought, he noticed murmuring at his door.

_"Miranda, I need to speak with Allen."_

_"I-I do not think I'm allowed to let anyone in Mr. Walker's room tonight."_

_"He's not going to run away while I'm there, trust me. Just go get something to drink, and I'll be gone before you get back."_

There was more quarrelling between the two until Miranda finally gave in and shuffled off. _Look who it is, right on cue_, Allen thought.

A single frail knock on the door drew his attention. Allen rolled his eyes and hid under the covers.

This time, the knocks were much more violent and rapid. "I know you're in there, idiot!"

"I'm asleep," Allen half-heartedly replied from beneath the covers.

"Open the door."

"Well, doesn't that sound familiar?" Allen said with sarcasm-laced words.

Maybe running away was his best option. He'd made it on his own before, hadn't he? It would be simple enough to get some money through a little gambling, travel around some more, and who knows; maybe Cross would let him back in.

"Don't you get it, you idiot? After hearing Daisya's last dying words, I realized that I couldn't lose anyone else. For once, I fucking care about losing someone! Especially-"

Allen opened the door and looked at Kanda, his own sorrow reflected in the other's eyes. Kanda sounded angry, but his face just reflected a hurt expression that rivaled even Miranda's face.

"I am not weak, Kanda, and I'm not afraid of Cross, or even Tyki. And I'm definitely not afraid of you," he replied fiercely. "You have no right to decide things for me. You crossed the line, and you know it."

"That's the damn problem! You live so recklessly for everyone else, and yet you couldn't care less about your own self!"

"Other people have someone to protect, someone waiting on them at home, something that keeps them going. I have no fear of death, because I have nothing to lose!" Allen yelled back. As soon as the words left his mouth, an unspoken truth was out in the open air. _Where did that come from? _Allen thought,_ I've never said anything like that before. _But it was true, so clawingly true that it left a bitter emptiness in his stomach.

"So Lavi, and Lenalee, and everyone else mean nothing to you? Do I mean nothing to you?" Kanda said as he clenched his fists. Allen looked at Kanda in confusion as he seemed to be on the verge of a complete breakdown in anger. He was practically shaking, and wouldn't even look Allen in the eyes.

"It's because Lavi and Lenalee mean so much to me; it's because you mean so much to me," Allen lost his anger and smiled fondly, "that I try so hard to be so strong. That night, when I was on the verge of losing it all together; it was you three that brought me back. It was you yelling at me at three in the morning that made me not give up."

An unexpected blush hinted at Kanda's cheeks, and he muttered a simple goodbye before disappearing down the hall.

* * *

Allen was blessed with having all his advanced classes without the trio, and after two blocks he was free from the claustrophobic building. Instead of heading straight to the lunchroom, he slipped out the back door and made his way down to the older part of town.

Kanda's words from last night still bounced around in his thoughts, and he couldn't help but to smile when he thought of the conversation. Invincible, impervious-to-feelings, apathetic Kanda had shown up at his doorstep and shown a side of himself that left Allen dumbfounded. He'd_ almost_ seemed human for a couple of seconds there.

The second he came within a block of Cross's home, he felt his peace of mind dissolve into complete dread. Fear attempted to close his throat entirely as he watched the sky darken with black smoke, the acrid smell of a campfire surviving off of rotten wood laced the air. He ran over to the front entrance of the house and his worst fears were confirmed; the building was a blaze of fire and flame and heat. This wasn't a simple kitchen fire that singed a room or two; this blaze devoured the entire structure, stripping paint with ember claws and biting into the wood with charred teeth. There were already officials on the scene, but even the blaring siren of the fire truck couldn't mask the sound of his heart beating beneath his chest.

The first officer he came across tried to stop him. "Hey, kid, you can't go in there!"

"Cross," Allen was having trouble calming down his thoughts to ask a simple question, "is Cross still in there?"

The officer grimaced, but still said, "We have confirmed the remnants of a body within the structure. It'll take a while to get the dental work back to confirm his identity, but it was probably the owner. You wouldn't happen to have the last name Walker, would you?"

Allen nodded, since words would no longer escape his throat. He used the word remnants, not a body, but _remains_.

He led Allen over to a pile of random salvaged objects and with heavy protective gloves, he pulled out a steel box. "It has the name A. Walker engraved on it, and is still intact. You might want to wait to open it, or else you could burn yourself on the hot metal."

Allen disregarded him the second he got a hold of the box. A loud cracking noise caught his attention and he looked up at the house in horror. Crashing and spewing out of embers, the flames turned into a giant inferno as the structure collapsed. It was now nothing more than a bundle of firewood.

"How did this happen?" He asked quietly. The shock was preventing him from feeling anything; he was dizzy and nauseous and focused on not throwing up at this point.

"Cigarette left burning after the owner fell asleep is our best guess. This community's never going to be the same after this; the man basically led them all in strong faith." The officer trailed off in respect, but Allen began to tune him out and stared off into the roaring blaze. Firefighters were already attempting to put it out, but it was too late. Everything once there was long gone.

Suddenly someone pulled him back by the shoulder, extremely winded and face painted with the same look of trauma.

"Allen, why'd you run off? What the hell happened here?"

"I could've been here!" Allen yelled in histrionics and ripped Kanda's hand off of him.

"Allen, I had no idea that," Kanda stopped when Allen wouldn't let him continue talking.

"He's dead, Kanda," Allen pointed at the smoking remnants of the house, "he was still in there!"

"I-"

"You took away my last chance to see him!" Allen felt tears rolling down his cheeks. The only memory left of Mana was gone; the only family he had left was gone. If he hadn't been trapped at the school last night, he could've seen Cross. He could've gotten some answers; he could've prevented this altogether.

"It's not my damn fault, Allen! When people go looking for answers for arson, when they go looking for what Cross was protecting, they are going to look for the closest person to him. Someone obviously did this on purpose, and all evidence that links you to Cross is gone. Deleted, shredded into tiny bits, erased from existence. Now you're out of harm's way, and who says you wouldn't have burned up along with him if you'd been here? I did you a favor by getting you out of there!" He yelled back in bitter anger.

"Who exactly is going to come after me? What is he protecting? You're making no damn sense, and you never have! Just get out of here, Kanda!" Allen said as he pushed him away once again. Kanda, realizing that his presence was only making it worse, left with a stuttered, angry apology.

Allen sat down on a curb, and wiped away his bitter tears rolling down his cheeks. _Cross may have been a bastard, but he was all I had left_. Realizing the scorching box was still in his hand, he inspected it for a lock. Once he found it, he noticed it had a four-letter word password on separate spinning dials. Without a second thought, he flipped each dial until it spelled out M-A-N-A. The box immediately clicked open.

The first thing he seized was a note, written sloppily and hastily.

_Idiot, I hope you don't actually think I'm dead._

Allen reread that line at least four more times until he nearly fell over in complete disbelief.

_Communications fell out with someone, and it's impossible to stay here any longer. Can't tell you any more. Smart move on your part to ditch the house last night, but it's possible you're going to be targeted in an attempt to find me. If absolutely necessary, go to Anita's Warehouse off Fourth St. Mention me, and they'll get you out of town within the next day. By the way, when I say necessary, I mean life or death situation. Don't get killed, idiot. P.S.- I packed up all your shit in a suitcase behind the dumpster behind the house. You definitely owe me._

He wanted to look through the box longer, but decided that lingering here was a horrible decision if someone was actually going to target him. Realizing that he'd yelled at Kanda for absolutely no reason left him a little embarrassed, but then again, putting on a temper-tantrum only strengthened the idea of Cross truly being dead. Allen obviously needed to keep up the facade that he was dead for as long as possible, anyway.

_But who was out to get him?_ It obviously had something to do with Cross's decision to move here, but what would force him to burn his house down and leave in the middle of the night?

Allen headed to where Cross said he put Allen's things, and sure enough, all his stuff was packed up. It almost made him want to tear up; Cross not only gave him an escape route, but he also salvaged all Allen's things. _He really does care,_ Allen thought in mock sarcasm.

As he started the long walk back, he heard Kanda's familiar voice. Creeping down the back alley from where the source was coming from, he listened in.

"The other bastards got to him first. Look, I can't linger around here anymore; I'm sure they have spies watching this go down too."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'll pick up next time. Bye."

Allen backed out of the alley in horror; Kanda was one of the people planning to kill Cross. Which meant that he would be after him next.

* * *

**Did anyone have a moment of panic when they thought Cross was dead? *evil laughter***

**Next chapter: Will we finally find out what the hell Kanda is up to?! (Actually, you really might. I'm serious this time.) Who is pursuing Cross? And what does Tyki have planned?**

**(I was grinning like an idiot when I read your reviews because you all are so sweet! Until next update!)**


	9. Necklace

He fell to the floor, looking out the window as the dimming rays of sunlight painted his room in an orange glow. The room was bathed in a fire-like glow, like a candle just before it ran out of wax. He smelled like smoke, and his glove was practically ash from holding the box so tightly. However, this could be the last remnant of Cross he'd ever get his hands on; it obviously seemed like the man had no plans on returning for Allen's sake.

Pulling the box closer to him, he spun the dials once again until it popped back open. At a first glance, all there was inside was the note placed gingerly on top, but the inside seemed way too shallow compared to the size of the box. He looked all around the sides and bottom of the box: no buttons, triggers, or even any sign of another opening.

"The man still manages to annoy me even when he's not here," Allen muttered while knocking on the metal. Suddenly, a rattling came out from the bottom of the box, and he jumped back. The box continued to shiver and shudder from the inside out, and Allen curiously crawled back over to it. He looked at the compartment again, and realized there was a small indent in the bottom; he hadn't noticed until a dying ray of the sunset illuminated the inside of the box.

He pressed his finger into the depression and the box began to shift and change. What had first been the bottom of the box folded up to the sides and revealed another inner compartment. The only thing Allen saw, however, was a flash of gold before he was knocked backward and sent somersaulting across the room.

"What the hell was that," Allen murmured as he rubbed the back of his head. He flinched at when a sharp pain in his finger; _did something just bite me?_ Looking down at his hand, he blinked a couple of times just to be sure he wasn't seeing things. There was a small, golden object currently gnawing on his finger._ Wings,_ he thought in disbelief,_ it has wings. And a mouth,_ he added resentfully, as it continued to chew on his finger.

The cross-like marking on the animate sphere no doubt had something to do with the real Cross, but what exactly was this thing? When Allen finally managed to tug it off of his finger, the tiny creature sat on the ground in front of him and spit out a crumpled up piece of paper.

_Take good care of my golem, Timcampy._

"Timcampy?" Allen questioned as he looked over the note and back at the golem. It nodded its head in agreement.

"You're strange," Allen decided, but then gave the little figure his best grin, "but I don't mind. Would you like to accompany me, Tim?" To answer his question, Timcampy sprung up from the ground and landed softly on top of Allen's head.

Allen continued to rifle through the rest of the box as Timcampy nestled into his hair.

"Cross's gun?" He lifted the weighted weapon out of the box and inspected it. No doubt this was Cross's original gun; the intricate silver detailing and auto revolver feature was something unique to only him. He checked the box once again, but there weren't any bullets. Looking back at the gun, however, he noticed it was fully loaded, and Cross left the safety off. Allen quickly fumbled with the gun in a panic to put the safety on; _why did Cross always seem to want him dead?!_

"But why would he leave this to me? Eh, Timcampy, do you know anything about this?" He looked up, but Tim shook his head. _No clue, huh_. Just as he was about to close the box, something caught his eye again; was that another indentation beneath where the gun had been?

As he pressed the box again, it folded just as before. Allen wanted to smack himself in the forehead; why couldn't Cross just put everything in a normal box? He peeked over the edge of the seemingly endless box, and saw something shimmering at the very bottom. A necklace?

It was a simple silver chain, but the delicate pendant on it was what caught his attention. The fragile pattern consisted of a circle within a circle, both with strange markings on them. Both of the rings had thin pieces of ebony metal plated across them in the form of little symbols, varying from lines to arcs to circles. The symbols were beautifully handcrafted, almost like someone had carved out pieces of black pearl and welded each detailing fragment in with tweezers. The the intermittent obsidian symbols stood out against the base; each different one wreathed around the two silver, fundamental rings. The entire pendant looked oddly familiar, and he pulled it close up to his face where it glimmered beneath the sun's touch.

His eyes widened when he saw it up close; this was Mana's pattern. The necklace suddenly unearthed his almost forgotten memories; and he dropped the pendant as his hand trembled too much to hold on to it.

_"Mana, why do they all keep looking at me? Why are they hurting?"_

_The broad man turned around and eyed Allen curiously. He bent down to his height and ruffled his hair._

_"Who's looking at you, Allen?" Could he not see them? Allen looked to his left and right; there were people crowding around him, disheveled and wounded. One small girl was crying out to him, but couldn't seem to get close and was swept up in the crowd. A man was yelling, screaming at him; he was covered in blood. No matter where he looked, it was a sea of red and dark purple flames that surrounded the people._

_"I'm scared, Mana!" Allen yelled._

_The man pulled him in close, and replied, "There's nothing to be scared of, silly. You're just popular, can't you tell?" He pointed over to the left, "That person over there, do you see her?"_

_Allen looked remorsefully over in that direction and picked out the little girl from the horrifying crowd again. He nodded and started wiping off his face._

_She came closer this time, walking all the way up to Allen. The closer she got, the more horrified he became. Her hair was cut up in different places, and she had stitching marks holding together her joints. They were made of loose string, and he could see bones where the stitching was giving away._

_"Al-," She reached out for his hand,"-Len."_

_He screamed out more in fear than in pain when she touched his left hand; a burning sensation spiked up and he tried to break away from her grip._

_Mana looked around until he found a suitable plant, broke off a stick, and then came back to kneel in front of Allen._

_"Make them go away! Please, help me!" Mana just smiled and began to draw in the fresh snow with the stick he'd found. Two circular rings, with lots of different markings. Once he seemed satisfied with the design, he put down his drawing tool and touched the circles with his hands._

_There was a bright flash that blinded Allen; everything went white, like a flurry of snow. When the light died down, everyone was gone. The streets were empty, and snow was falling from the sky, returning peace once again to the city. Mana put the stick in Allen's hand._

_"Do you see this mark? If you're ever in trouble," he guided his hand and drew out the circles once again, "remember this; remember me. I will always be with you, even when I am not."_

He was sobbing and clutching the necklace tightly; how could he have forgotten Mana's words so easily? The more he thought about it, he realized that Mana hadn't even seen any of the people. The horrible crowds and hoards of dying people were all ghosts, but Mana still played along as if he saw what Allen did. _Why, Mana?_

He tied the necklace around his neck, leaving it loosely hanging over his collar bones. Crawling into bed, he hid beneath the covers while Timcampy napped on the pillow beside his head. No wonder the girl in the basement reminded him of Mana; she was almost identical to the one who approached him as a child.

_Mana,_ he thought_, why did you have to die?_

* * *

He woke up disoriented and freezing, not recognizing the dorm room for a few seconds. The sun still hadn't risen, but by the morning twilight outside he knew that it was definitely preparing. He looked over sleepily at Tim, who was slowly rising and falling in a deep sleep. _I wonder if he'll be okay in my room for the day?_

After hopping out of the shower, Allen looked in the mirror and grimaced at the state of his face. However, he knew there was no use covering it up anymore, so worrying about it was wasted time. After changing into his usual uniform and making sure the knot on his bow was tight, he tucked the necklace beneath his collar. Grabbing his stuff and saying a heartfelt goodbye to the golem, he made his way over to his homeroom class. Not too many people around, he noticed, it's still early. Nonetheless, he stepped into his class even before the first bell rang. "Oh, Miss Miranda! Is it okay if I'm here a little-"?

"Allen!" She yelled, and nearly knocked him over in an embrace of tears.

"What did I do wrong? Please don't cry!" He yelled, taken aback.

"I heard," she spoke through her sobs, "I heard about what happened to your house, and your father! I cursed him, Allen; I wanted him dead for what he did! But I didn't really mean it! This is my entire fault! I'm a murderer! Please forgive me, Allen!" She clutched onto his clothes and was beginning to soak through his vest and white button-down underneath.

"It's not your fault at all, Miranda. These things just happen," he murmured.

She pulled her face out of his chest and trembled. Wiping away her tears, she said, "I should be the one cheering you up, but instead you're taking care of me. I'm so selfish."

Allen smiled back and said, "Let's just both give being happy our best shot, okay?" She nodded, smiling through her tears. _That's the spirit. Sort of._

He took a seat in the back and, for once, enjoyed being in school. It was just about the only normalcy he had left and cherished his moments in this classroom. The first bell eventually rang, leading students to slowly filter into the room in chattering groups.

Eventually he saw Kanda walk in; apparently the sight of Allen sent him into shock once again and he froze while staring at him from the door. It'd only taken the brisk walk home for Allen to cool off and realize that whatever Kanda was up to, he probably wasn't after Allen. That didn't mean he wasn't suspicious of course, but at least he wasn't public enemy number one.

Kanda eventually snapped out of it when a couple of students couldn't get past him as he blocked the doorway. He stoically turned on his heel and left the classroom just as quickly as he entered_. Since when did he lose his composure so easily? Maybe getting called a murderer and your friend dying in the same day wasn't exactly easy to get over._

Before he could even consider getting up to go apologize, he noticed Lenalee walking toward him. She looked like she was extremely upset about something; what could be bothering her?

"Lenalee? What's wrong?" He gasped as she cried silently into his chest.

Muffled by the fabric of his shirt, she said, "I heard what happened, Allen. I'm so sorry."

"Oh, Lenalee, it's okay, really. Please don't cry for my sake," he replied softly while stroking her hair. She sniffed and loosed her embrace, looking at him with a watered down smile.

"You're so strong, Allen. If I lost my brother, I can't say I'd ever come back from that; even thinking about it makes me scared. You know I'm always here for you, right?" She raised her hand and lightly touched his face. _Now's my chance,_ she thought. With a slight blush, she closed her eyes while leaning in.

"AAAAAAALLLEN!" Lavi tackled Allen to the ground in a teary and heartfelt greeting.

"I'm so sorry, Allen! About your house, and your old man, and-" Lavi continued on a long list of apologies, including almost getting him killed. However, an infuriated Lenalee cut his monologue short, who was completely put out that Lavi ruined her chance of stealing a kiss.

She grabbed Lavi by the ear and pulled him off Allen. Scolding Lavi about any excuse she possible, and Allen took this chance to escape the pair and make it back to his desk. Miranda, still too broken up to give a lesson, gave the class a silent study hall and ran off to presumably cry in the teachers' lounge. Allen sighed in slight embarrassment;_ he really didn't want all of this._ No one should be upset over him; Cross didn't even die. How did they find out, anyway?

The bell eventually rolled by, and after one more boring class, he made his way over to the lunchroom while chitchatting with Lenalee. Much to his surprise, Kanda was already sitting at the table, quietly eating by himself. He didn't look like his usual self, and instead was surrounded by an aura of depression.

"Yuu, why'd you skip class?" Lavi asked as he put his food down next to Kanda. Lenalee nodded in agreement, and he merely looked up at them both wearily. It was obvious he hadn't slept and just muttered some excuse about being busy.

They continued on with idle chatter, Allen focusing mostly on his food. He looked over at Kanda a couple of times, who was eyeing him nervously, and responded with a slight smile. This made the other almost choke on his soba, and Lenalee looked over in concern.

"Kanda, we all need to try our best to be cheerful for Allen!" She said, obviously off put by his attitude. Kanda didn't say anything, and continued to pick at his food.

"At any rate, are we still going to that party this weekend?" Lavi asked. Allen had almost forgotten, and the obvious surprise on Lenalee's face meant she had too.

"No," Kanda said immediately. "We already decided against that, idiot."

"Well, I'm going," Allen said without skipping a beat. At first he'd completely thrown out the idea the second he heard Tyki was involved in a murder plot. But if Kanda wasn't going to tell him anything, then he'd have to play someone else's game.

Kanda's eyes widened; he obviously expected Allen to stay away. Before he could protest, Lavi beat him to the punch. "Yeah, let's go Allen! You can be my wingman!" Allen tilted his head and smiled, glad that someone was excited. More glad about not having to go alone, mostly, but the excitement still helped.

"I'm not going to be left out, you guys!" Lenalee said and agreed to come.

"Lenalee, if you go, will you stay by Lavi or I?" Allen asked.

"Are you worried about me? You should be more worried about yourself, Allen. With a cute face like that, you're going to be whisked away into the night in seconds," Lenalee said while laughing.

Allen paled at the thought, but decided that neither his looks nor his age were going to get in his way. He noticed Kanda out of the corner of his eye; with his hand twitching and eyes darkening when he realized that there was no way he was going to stop them.

"Have fun at home, Kanda," Lavi said as the bell rang.

"You know what? I'll come too," Kanda said while glaring at Allen.

* * *

"No, he should wear this!"

"Lavi, that's all wrong! Look, match this, with this."

"But Lenalee, this looks so much better than that!"

Allen sat on the side of Lavi's bed like a doll and watched them bicker over what he should wear. Kanda, who sat in a chair nearby, was obviously unamused as they tried_, and failed,_ to dress him up too. Somehow the week had already crawled its way to Saturday, and Allen was apparently not "capable" of choosing his own clothes.

"Allen, Kanda, wait outside while we finish deciding. I want it to be a surprise!" Lenalee said and effectively kicked them out of the room.

"So violent," Allen muttered when he picked himself up off the floor outside.

"Bean sprout. You know what you're getting into, don't you?" Kanda said quietly.

"You don't sound as angry as you usually do," Allen replied nonchalantly. Kanda just pursed his lips and waited on an answer. "Yes, Kanda, I'll be fine. Sheesh, you worry like an old maid."

"What did you just say?" Kanda growled while twitching.

"Look," Allen started but then faltered under Kanda's icy stare. "I'm sorry about yesterday. You were stressed about Daisya, and I was stressed about my house burning down; can we just call it even? I'm not going to this party because I want to, you know. You don't really need to come along."

"I'm coming for my own reasons," Kanda said, anger replacing his apathy. "If you're doing this reckless stunt just to ask a couple of questions, then you're a bigger idiot than I first thought. Don't expect me to have your back."

"Allen, get back in here!"

"That's my cue. Let's both try our best not to get killed, right?" Allen said and then stepped in.

Kanda reached out to say something, but he already left. He clenched his fists and stewed over his inability to do anything.

_"Quick, put this on, before Lavi can dress you!"_

First, he was going to get his sword back.

_"I'm not changing in front of you guys!" Allen yelled back in embarrassment._

Then, he was going to drive it straight through Tyki's smug face.

_"Well, go into the bathroom or something!"_

And he was definitely going to protect Allen.

* * *

"But Lenalee, that's just so plain," Lavi complained while looking dismally at Allen.

"I think it suits him. And it's better than that flashy garbage you wanted him to wear," she argued.

Allen looked at himself in the mirror; it was simple, but Lenalee created the perfect balance for him. She picked out a navy V-neck, long-sleeved thankfully, that had one white vertical stripe on the left. Unenthusiastically but still allowing it, she let Allen tuck in his white skinny jeans into his tall boots; a black belt making his waist stand out. What he favored the most, however, were maroon gloves Lenalee picked out. They were made of soft leather, almost like something an old airplane pilot would wear, and the color was a deep crimson. It was almost a little creepy to how close she matched the actual color of the skin on his left half.

"It looks really nice. Thanks, Lenalee. I can't believe you even thought of gloves," Allen said while hugging her.

She blushed and tried to wave off his compliment. "It was nothing! I just knew you wouldn't go anywhere without those things."

"It looks a bit too nautical, don't you think? I think Lenalee had a bit too much fun playing dress up ," Kanda murmured over at Allen. The navy, maroon, and white did have the essence of a sailor, he supposed. Lenalee shot a glare over in his direction and just shrugged his shoulders.

"Hey, wait, Allen. Where'd you get that necklace?" Lenalee asked. He almost forgot that he was wearing it, and touched his neck.

"It's a keepsake from someone," Allen said fondly as he looked down at it.

"Well, it matches nicely," Lenalee said while smiling.

"Done," Kanda said, the three of them turned around, and somehow Kanda had already changed. It wasn't much of a surprise, just a simple grey jacket over darker jeans.

"That's even more depressing and boring than Allen, Kanda. At least let me give you some gold or-" He stopped when Kanda's glare took away his words. He was aiming at stealth, not fashion, Allen noticed._ Just what was Kanda going to do tonight?_

"Let's go already, you guys! We need to get off campus before my brother finds out," Lenalee said. Allen shivered at the thought of Komui running into Lenalee wearing the shortest skirt possible after dark with three teenage boys.

* * *

"Woah, look at the size of this place! And all the people!" Lavi exclaimed.

"When he said mansion, he wasn't kidding," Lenalee murmured.

"A lot of ground to cover," Kanda muttered under his breath.

Allen had been at a loss for words ever since they stepped in the front gate; first off, _this house had a front gate._ It looked more or less like the size of the school, but with a much more polished and modern look. The gardens out front were filled with roses and long expanses of trimmed hedges, winding back to fountains. People were already scattered around the gardens, drinking and laughing. However, most of the crowd was up ahead, along with booming music and bright, multicolored lights that cut through the cold night air.

"It's beautiful," Allen said in awe. Beautiful was an understatement.

The entire bottom floor was made up of glass; everything reflected off the shimmering surface like polished mirrors. Just about everyone was dancing, although some better than others. It was easy to pick out who had already had too much to drink.

"First things first," Lavi yelled over the music, "drinks for everyone!"

"Lavi, Allen is only fifteen," Lenalee pouted.

"I think it's Allen's decision," Lavi said while winking at him.

Allen looked uneasily at Lavi, but then decided that getting through this night sober probably wasn't going to work.

"Sure, pour me one," Allen said while grinning. Lavi cheered and ran off to go find out where they were keeping the alcohol, returning moments later with four shots. He handed one to each of them and held it up in the air for a toast. Allen raised his too, and an uncertain but excited Lenalee matched them.

"Yuu, come on," Lavi whined, beckoning for him to raise his glass. Rolling his eyes, he held it up as if it was physically painful to do so.

"To the greatest people I know," Lavi cheered, and then clinked glasses. Kanda pounded the clear alcohol and then put the glass in Allen's hand. He leaned in close to his ear and whispered, "Don't make a fool of yourself, and don't get killed."

"Wait, Kanda!" Lavi said, calling out to him as he disappeared within the crowd.

Allen winced at the bitter taste that burned all the way down his throat; _did people really do this for fun?_

"What'd he say, Allen?" Lenalee asked. Allen noticed she was still holding her drink.

"I couldn't tell," he lied.

"Lenalee, are you not going to drink?" Lavi asked when he noticed her full glass, too.

"Lavi, you know that I don't drink with big groups like this," she scolded, "but I didn't want to ruin your cute toast."

"Oh well, more for Allen," he said while grinning and took the drink from Lenalee's hand, placing it in Allen's.

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea, Lavi," Lenalee and Allen said in unison.

"Hmm," Lavi rubbed his chin, "you're probably right. He is a little too young; that's okay, Allen, I'll take care of it." Allen's face flushed with embarrassment and he drank it through pursed lips.

"Now who's too young?" He said triumphantly.

"Not me!" Lavi said while grinning.

"Let's go dance!" Lenalee said and led the two into the crowd with her.

* * *

Allen finally sat down a little ways from Lavi and Lenalee, who were still dancing. Lavi was blatantly drunk, which both Allen and Lenalee agreed was camera worthy later. To tell the truth, Allen wasn't feeling too sober himself, but not in the way he'd expected. Everything was extremely hazy and dizzy, but it was probably due to a lack of sleep more than anything else. He'd made sure to listen to Lenalee's advice not to take any drink that didn't come from either her or Lavi, and to always be holding something, even if he wasn't going to drink it.

After four different attempts from different people to hand him something, Allen was starting to become a lot more disillusioned with the party scene. He was too polite to avoid anyone altogether, and definitely had some conversations he would never forget. People had left the realm of lighthearted dancing as they all slowly lost their sobriety; he was glad he didn't talk Lavi's bait again and didn't end up looking like an idiot like Kanda had warned him.

What was worrying Allen wasn't the alcohol; it was something else. There was no way the strange tingling all over was alcohol. His vision seemed to be ever-changing the room into different textures and settings, only to revert to normal after he blinked a couple of times. The glass around him looked like a giant prism, reflecting the lights everywhere in a colorful haze. He felt warm, and light and-

Damn it, he'd definitely been drugged. He tried to calm down as panic set in; he hadn't accepted anything from anyone!

_I can handle this,_ he thought_, as long as I realize its drugs, I can push past it. I can't lose focus._

"Hmm? Is that you, Allen?" He looked up, and realized Tyki had finally spotted him. Finally, after a good two hours he was getting somewhere. Actually, he was positive Tyki noticed him sooner, but was waiting for a chance to talk to him without Lavi and Lenalee. _Time to roll the dice_, he thought and smiled politely back.

"Oh, Tyki! I was hoping I'd find you eventually," he replied.

"Mind if I sit?" He asked. Allen shook his head and made room on the plush couch. Even though he made space, Tyki still sat as close as possible to him. Allen silently thanked the alcohol for giving him the courage to not even be phased by a murderer in his personal space.

_Weird,_ Allen thought, _Tyki isn't dressed up at all. Maybe I'm just used to him dressing nice all the time, though. He looked rather disheveled, with a loosened tie over a slightly unbuttoned white shirt._

"Enjoying yourself? They seem to be," He asked while lighting a cigarette. Allen looked over and saw Lenalee and Lavi laughing while pushing each other around. _They'd make a cute couple,_ he realized, and blushed a little at the thought of it. Lavi said he'd come to the party to meet chicks, but ended up barely talking to any girl other than Lenalee.

"Yeah, they seem to really be having fun. Lavi sure is going to regret drinking that much," He said while laughing.

He turned his attention back to Tyki, who hadn't taken his eyes from Allen yet._ He sure doesn't seem like a murderer,_ Allen thought_. He's actually quite handsome. I really don't get what's so interesting about me, though._

"These gloves suit you," he murmured and touched Allen's left hand. Allen fought the urge to pull his hand away; why did it always have to be his left hand?

"This may not be the time and place, but I'm sorry about what happened to your father, Allen," he said sincerely and intertwined their fingers.

"Oh, thank you. It's so sweet of you to care," Allen said sincerely. Was he really supposed to believe he killed Daisya? Everything about Tyki made him feel warm and comfortable, and he found himself fighting the urge to get caught up in the moment.

_It's the drugs, Allen. Don't lose it,_ he reminded himself. He fell back into reality once again, and his hand was starting to hurt.

"Are you okay?" Tyki put a hand on his cheek and looked even more concerned. "You're burning up, Allen."

_It's burning,_ he thought as his eyes widened. _My hand is burning_. The entire world seemed to be collapsing in on itself all of a sudden; the room was spinning so quickly that he had to shut his eyes. This was only supposed to happen when ghost touched him, right? What was going on? Other people see, talk, and mention Tyki, so he's obviously alive!

"Allen?"

'I think someone," his throat was burning, and his entire body was going numb, "I think someone put something in my drink."

Lavi or Lenalee; one of them put something in my drink. He collapsed, luckily on Tyki's shoulder instead of smacking his head on the hardwood floor. Tyki looked around the room; whoever did it was probably watching. Allen was still breathing, much to his relief.

"Just passed out from shock, then," he said, but Allen looked dead to the world.

_This was probably a little shy of an overdose,_ he thought, while noticing how scarlet Allen was turning. But who wanted to knock him out so bad that they'd use such heavy narcotics?

"Hmm?" Tyki looked at Allen again, this time noticing the necklace he was wearing. He held the metal pendant in one hand and ran his finger on the grooved surface. _Why was this pattern so nostalgic?_

* * *

Allen was suddenly thrown back into awareness, and tried to regain his bearings. He blinked a couple of times before looking around; it was a lot more quiet, which he greatly appreciated. Someone had laid him down a couch much like the one he passed out on, but he was obviously somewhere else. _How long has it been, and where am I in the house now?_, Allen thought miserably while he tried to pull himself back into reality. Hopefully Lenalee and Lavi weren't too worried. He saw some blurry stairs down to his left, obviously leading back down. The floor was vibrating from the noise downstairs, and he nearly fell over when he stood up.

_My head feels like it's splitting,_ he thought and looked at the now looming obstacle that was the stairs. _I'm going to end up somersaulting down those if I don't regain my balance._

"Where do you think you're going?" Allen turned around, but didn't see anyone trying to stop him.

"Me?" Allen asked as he looked into the darkness of the hall behind him.

"I don't have time for this!" No, other people were on this floor, and they weren't being very quiet about it.

Kanda and Tyki. Those were both of their voices. He turned away from the stairs and followed the shouting, which led him through a twisting and turning hallway. He picked up the pace when he heard what sounded like gunshots. _What the hell was going on?_ He eventually stumbled into a large room; it didn't look like it was used for much. The moonlight shining through the wall of glass windows revealed a simple couch, table, and fireplace on the back wall. Along with Tyki, Kanda, and two faces he didn't recognize.

"Allen?" Tyki and Kanda said in disbelief. Allen squinted through his double vision; Kanda was holding a giant katana, and the two unfamiliar figures, hiding in the shadows of the room, had guns. Guns they were pointing at Kanda. He was never doing drugs again.

One of them pointed his gun over at Allen. "'This the Walker kid?"

"Get out of here, idiot! Now!" Kanda yelled.

"So dramatic, like always, Kanda. Now's a good of time as any," Allen said and glared at all four of them, "so, which one of you killed Cross?"

_Act oblivious, blunt, and naïve. No one will expect any different from me,_ Allen thought.

The room went silent and they all looked over at each other. Did none of them actually know the answer? Suddenly Tyki's laughter picked up, and he said, "Upfront, I like that. Cross took himself out before the Order could, Allen."

"Order?" Allen questioned.

"Run away while you still can, damn it!" A bullet flashed by Kanda's head narrowly missing him but still managing to scratch his face.

"Devit. Jasdero. Hold your fire," Tyki said while lighting a cigarette.

"Take a seat with me, little shonen. Maybe your jealous boyfriend will keep you in the dark, but I think it's rather cruel."

"You know this is a trap, you idiot! No matter what you've been drugged with-" Another bullet flew over his head and he jumped back.

"I'm not stupid, Kanda, despite what you think," Allen replied. He brushed past Kanda and over to where Tyki was sitting. Being a hostage wasn't the setting he assumed when he first thought of finally getting answers. However, he already said he would play the game according to their rules.

"The Black Order, the resistance group, and the rest of us blacklisted as The Noah Clan. There are the good guys, the bad guys, and the ones who refuse to pick a side. But there isn't a difference between any of us."

"Damn it, you know that's not true! We're fighting to protect the innocence, instead of destroy it like the rest of you," Kanda yelled back.

Tyki pointed his cigarette over in Kanda's direction. "You're still chasing that pipe dream of restoring the Order to its former self? Don't make me laugh. See, here, Allen, we have a bitter dissenter of the Order. A whole group of them broke off, and eventually got labeled as the resistance or renegade group because they wouldn't stop meddling in affairs they weren't really invited to."

"I hate to ask, but," Allen's face blushed in embarrassment, "what exactly is this innocence you're all so preoccupied with? Why is it worth killing each other, exactly?"

Tyki nearly fell off the couch, and looked over at Kanda in disbelief. "You're really kept this kid like a wet match, haven't you?" Kanda didn't reply but gripped his sword tighter in anger.

"It's the glowing green stuff that's causing wars and destroying the whole system," one of the gun-wielders said.

"We're just cleaning up the mess _he_ left," the other said in a mocking tone.

Allen looked over to Tyki for clarification. He blew out a puff of smoke and continued, "Innocence is a sort of material humans shouldn't have gotten their hands on. Back when the Order was first created, it was fine to have it around; they just used the stuff like holy water and called themselves "exorcists". They only used it for purging and saving monsters and demons like perfect little saints. But then people got greedy and started finding new ways to use it; applying it to technology, using it in warfare, exploiting it in any way possible."

He rested his hand on his chin while pondered over what he should just skip ahead to. "The Order eventually decided it was too dangerous to keep around, supposedly destroyed everything they'd collected, including the exorcist's weapons. That made our lives easier, but the Order itself needs to dissolve; they still have some innocence left and bargain with countries, exchanging the stuff for a heavy price. So much for destroying it, after all. How did this corruption start, you may ask?"

"Malcolm Lvellie," Kanda hissed.

"You're still here, samurai? I'd assume you'd want a running start to protect that innocence of your own. But look at how friendly you've gotten; we're already finishing each other's sentences. Too bad we've run out of time to chat," Tyki said while standing up. Kanda had innocence.

"That's how you defeated the girl when we first met, isn't it Kanda!" Allen said as he pieced it together. No wonder he destroyed the camera.

"Allen," Kanda said fiercely, "you promised me you weren't going to die tonight. If you value your life, you'll run, now. You got what you wanted, didn't you?"

Everything started moving in slow motion; Kanda raised his sword up, and then hurled it straight at Tyki. Allen ducked and headed for the exit, but he wasn't quick enough. A bullet hit him in the shoulder, but instead of piercing his skin it exploded upon contact and smashed him into the glass wall. He couldn't seem to recover quick enough to pull himself up, and the entire room was swaying like a ship on rough seas.

"Not so fast, Allen. There's a price you have to pay for information," Tyki said while walking over to him.

"Don't touch him," Kanda said through gritted teeth. He materialized his sword from across the room to his left hand, but Tyki merely scoffed.

"You have what you came for, Yuu Kanda. As I recall, you're the one who knocked Allen into this drugged state in the first place," Tyki said as he bent down. Allen flinched when Tyki came near him, but instead of giving into fear he glared over at Kanda. He wanted to act surprised at Tyki's accusation, but he'd already figured it out at this point. Kanda did it when he leaned over to whisper in his ear.

_And I can't esca__pe because of it, damn it,_ Allen thought. Staying conscious was a challenge in itself at this point.

"He was supposed to pass out within the hour, and then Lavi and Lenalee would've taken him home. I even put extra in Lenalee's drink, because I knew she wouldn't touch it. But you didn't," Kanda stopped and grimaced, "you just wouldn't give up, would you?"

Allen felt anger boil in his blood and prepared to curse up a storm. "You could've killed me, you-" Tyki leaned in and stopped Allen's outburst with a soft kiss, pressing his hands up against the cracked glass above each of Allen's shoulders.

"Eh, Tyki? What are you-" Devit said, pointing over at him, but his hand went limp when he realized what was going on.

"I don't think this was part of the plan, Tyki," Jasdero said awkwardly while scratching his head.

The end of Kanda's katana hit the floor with a metallic rattle, and he looked over in disbelief. Tyki didn't so much as look in his direction as he continued to trap Allen, who was weakly struggling beneath Tyki in vain. The more he struggled, the easier it became for Tyki to close in on him, eventually leaving no room for escape. Kanda's jaw slightly dropped in disgust, and he looked over at the other two, who just shrugged their shoulders. And then a moment of silence came over the entire group.

Devit started impatiently tapping his boot and looked away while muttering, "I think you've made your point, Tyki. Let the kid up for air already. We were sort of in the middle of something."

"Come on, he's gonna pass out if you don't let him breathe," Jadero said while sighing in defeat.

"Jasdero, look," he poked the other with his elbow, "he's turned to stone," Devit said quietly and pointed at Kanda.

"More like a hot coal; he's blushing more than the Walker kid. We should just shoot Kanda and put him out of his misery," Jasdero whispered back.

After a couple more moments of an unbearable silence, Tyki finally brushed Allen's cheek and pulled away. Allen his side, painted a strawberry red and gasping for air.

"You were asking for it when you came waltzing into my home with that cute little outfit on, Allen. It's not my fault," Tyki said matter-of-factly while lighting a cigarette.

"You," Allen pointed over at Kanda, "and you," Allen pointed over at Tyki, "are both going to pay. For drugging me, and for unfairly kissing me."

"All is fair in love and war," Tyki merely replied while grinning. _A line like that at a time like this?!_

Suddenly they all heard the shattering of glass; Kanda looked over in horror where Allen had purposefully kicked the window in.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Allen?" Kanda yelled.

"He isn't gonna-?" Jasdero and Devit said at the same time.

"Kanda," Allen smiled curtly, "don't make a fool out of yourself, and don't die."

Allen was acting strong, but still couldn't get enough air to think, much less talk. He only knew one thing: if any of them found out about his arm, he was dead. Without waiting for a response to either Tyki or Kanda, he fell backward and out the window. Tyki barely missed grabbing the front of his shirt and cursed when he missed.

A silence fell over the room. "Tyki, did you just let him fall out the window? We're on the fourth floor," Jasdero said nervously.

Allen cheered in triumph; only to cry out in fear when his assumption that he was on the second floor was wrong; he was twice as high up and free-falling to what would be the crash-landing of the century. He winced as he was about to hit the ground, but just before impact, everything stopped. Allen opened his eyes.

"I knew there was something I liked about him," Tyki said as he peeked over the edge of the window.

"Timcampy? How did you get so big?" Allen asked in surprise, but spoke too soon. Timcampy reverted back to regular size, causing Allen to fall to the ground and effectively crush Tim.

"Ah, I'm so sorry!" Allen said as he pulled the golem out of the indent it made in the lawn.

"Oi, Allen? Did you have a safe landing?" Tyki fell back from the window's edge, a little disappointed. "Huh, he's already gone."

Kanda, still speechless, turned on his heel and made a dash to escape, narrowly avoiding a shower of bullets.

"Devit, Jasdero. Go after them for me, would you?"

* * *

**Lots of important stuff and a lot of me being an idiot. Originally, I planned for it to be a serious fight scene, but then I realized that it was going to be posted on Valentine's Day and one thing led to another and…. I broke Kanda's heart instead. (Did you think I would've done something nice? No way.)**

**Anyway, happy Valentine's Day! If I could kiss you all till your lungs give out, I would. Thank you for all the support and love. *hugs you all***

**Who's happy that Kanda finally has his sword back and can FINALLY kick some much-needed ass? Will they both be able to avoid the pursuit of Devit and Jasdero?**


	10. Bullet

Shrieks of laughter and the sound of gunshots followed him as he navigated his way down to the bottom floor. The upper floors were like a maze, and every wrong turn he made cost him valuable seconds to escape the twins' pursuit.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are, puny Kanda!" Devit yelled.

A bullet skimmed past his shoulder; damn it,_ they're going to catch up to me at this rate_. Finally he saw the stairs leading down to the glass room, and descended the stairs as quick as possible with bullets on his heels. There was still a large crowd, and he ducked inbetween people until it was impossible to pick him out of the party-goers.

"Damn it, what a coward," Devit muttered as he looked around the room. Jasdero, not bothered by his disappearance at all, raised his gun and cocked it.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? You can't open fire on all these bystanders!" Devit yelled and pulled the gun away from him.

"But if we just start shooting, we're sure to hit him eventually," Jasdero replied while fighting to get his gun back.

"I'll give it back if you go after the white-haired one," Devit bargained while holding the gun as far away as possible from the other. There's no way he could leave Kanda up to Jasdero if he wanted to shoot up a crowd without second thought.

"No fair! I wanted to shoot the one we can actually kill!"

"I'll snap your gun in half if you don't," Devit said menacingly. Jasdero was jumping over him to get the gun back but abruptly stopped at the threat.

"Besides, Tyki didn't say anything about what condition he had to be in. Alive was the only rule," Devit said while grinning.

"Fine," Jasdero pouted.

Devit gave back the much-coveted gun back and replied, "It's not going to take you long to catch him, so drag him back here as quick as possible. Kanda will probably give up if we use him as a hostage."

Jasdero groaned; this was too much work. Devit pushed him in the direction of the exit, and then Jasdero knocked over everyone in his warpath as he stormed out. Rolling his eyes at the other's temper tantrum, Devit scanned the crowd and silently had his own when he couldn't find Kanda. Even with his stupid hairstyle, the man was impossible to find.

"This would already be over if Tyki hadn't pulled that stupid stunt," he fumed and considering shooting aimlessly into the crowd himself.

"If you've got a complaint, take it up with the Earl," Tyki said politely as he appeared behind him.

"Where did you come from?!" Devit yelled and jumped back.

"I'm not a girl, jackass! Don't try to flirt with me!" Devit's head swiveled to look over at a very angry Kanda and an even more apologetic drunkard with the handle of a katana smashed against his head.

Tyki pointed into the crowd and said, "There he is."

"Well I obviously know that now!" Devit stormed off into the crowd and raised his gun. Anyone who noticed, a small few, screamed and ducked, but for the most part no one even paid attention. Kanda cursed when he saw Devit approaching him and ducked beneath more people, heading toward the exit.

* * *

The second Kanda was out of the stuffy house, he weaved his way through the gardens while avoiding Devit's gunshots.

"Come on, Kanda, running away is no fun!" He yelled out.

Ignoring him, Kanda continued to run until he came to a skidding halt at a dead-end;_ was this not the way to the exit?_ He silently wondered if this was how Allen felt all the time.

"You've got nowhere left to run," Devit said while grinning and opened fire. Kanda managed to pull out his sword in time to block the stray shots, but the last bullet Devit fired wasn't like the rest; it shattered into tiny blue shards when it connected with his sword. _My hand is frozen,_ he realized, when the skin started turning blue and the feeling left his fingertips.

"A little cold, huh?" Devit yelled and began firing again.

"Is that toy gun the best you've got?" Kanda muttered. There were a lot of bullets, but none too strong; Devit was the tiny brain, and Jasdero was the brawn of their circus act. Still, he couldn't underestimate Devit's marksmanship and stayed on guard.

Useless without feeling in his left hand, Kanda switched his katana into his other hand; although he wasn't as good offensively right-handed, he still could block. They both lost and gained ground, as Kanda got close enough to strike but Devit forced him back with an onslaught of bullets. Detonated by another Kanda's parry, one of the bullets shattered into a million pieces. This time, he noticed, the pieces were red. _If blue means cold, then red means…_

Kanda impulsively used his frozen hand to block the attack instead of his sword; the bullet thawed his skin to the point of burning, but at least the feeling was back. Even if it hurt like hell. The handle of his sword began to glow red and singed his skin from the heat surge released from the bullet. _He's just a damn sadist,_ Kanda thought, when he realized that Devit wasn't firing any bullets straight at him. They only nicked his sides, barely brushing his clothes.

"Knock it off already!" Kanda yelled.

"You're a sore loser," Devit replied haughtily and Kanda ducked beneath a bullet.

"And you're no good in close combat," Kanda replied, appearing behind Devit. The other yelped in surprise and narrowly avoided a direct jab from behind. With the next attack, he wasn't so lucky; Kanda managed to severely slice the side of his arm.

Devit cried out in pain and frantically started shooting bullets, throwing up a smokescreen around them. When the smoke finally died down, there was no sign of Kanda. He squinted off into the distance and saw a shadowy figure slowly getting smaller and smaller.

"You damn coward! You can't just run away!" Devit yelled while gripping his bleeding arm.

"I have no time to fight an incompetent cross-dresser," Kanda yelled back.

"Cross-dresser? Kanda Yuu, you are so dead!" Kanda didn't reply; he was already too far away to hear.

"Ah, damn it, I should be running!"

Kanda ignored Devit and ran off into town._ Wait, where was he running?_ He slowed down to a walking pace and realized he had no idea where Allen went. Stopping in the cover of a dark alleyway, he pulled out his phone and dialed Allen, hoping he'd just headed straight back to campus_._

_ You'd better be alive, Allen_.

* * *

"Come back here, Walker!" Jasdero yelled as he chased him down another alleyway. There was no chance Allen was heading back to the campus; that's where Lenalee and Lavi were headed. Instead, he went to the part of town he knew best: the older, shadier part. Most of the buildings he passed were either abandoned or vacant, and the few beggars hiding out ran off when they heard the ricochet of bullets.

Before escaping the gardens surrounding the mansion, he made sure to call Lenalee and made up an excuse to get her to leave. _The party was going to be busted by the cops soon,_ he said, and brushed over her questions about where he disappeared. After a promise from both sides to call once they made it home, he hung up more relieved than before. However, Jasdero managed to catch up with him by the time he hung up, and Timcampy and he were dancing around street-corners to the tune of gunshots.

_I can't involve anyone in this,_ he thought and made another turn. No matter how many paths and winding alleyways he took, Jasdero seemed to always be on his tail, shooting up the windows and buildings in a symphony of chipped bricks and shattering glass.

A stray bullet bit into his side, scraping his thigh but not piercing his skin. He winced but didn't stop running and evaded another bullet that whizzed over his head.

"If you would just stop running, I'd stop shooting, idiot!" Jasdero said.

"It's a little unfair to attack someone without a weapon!" Allen yelled back. _If I could just use my arm, I'd have a chance,_ Allen thought, but then the enemy would know he had innocence. Enemy being a loose term for everyone in general; he wasn't really sure who wasn't trying to kill him at this point.

_Everything is spinning again_, he noticed, and nearly tripped over his own feet. Drugs and alcohol did not mix with daring escapes and quick thinking, in fact, walking in a straight line would even be a nice luxury at this point.

"Hmm? You seem to be losing ground, Allen. Did someone party too hard?" Jasdero said while laughing. A bullet hit him in the small of his back this time, exploding like the one back at the mansion. A cloud of smoke filled the alley and the blast knocked him off his feet._ I can't keep going like this, eventually I'm going to end up passing out,_ he thought while struggling to stand back up.

Using the smoke to his advantage, he ducked into an abandoned bar, whose door was left ajar.

"Damn it, where'd you go?" Allen looked around, and noticed there was a partially-glass back door. With the dirty light coming through, he could tell that he would end up a street over if he ran out through there. If he could just make it over there, maybe he could throw Jasdero off his trail.

"Marco?"

_This guy is really an idiot, isn't he?_ He saw Jasdero's shadow within the smoke, and noticed that he started to walk away from the bar in disappointment. Just as he trudged down the opposite alleyway, Allen's cellphone went off.

"Shit," he muttered and frantically tried to shut it off as quickly as possible._ Kanda?_

"Found you!" Jasdero said and burst into the shop. He gave up on trying to turn the phone off and jumped behind the bar table behind him to avoid the rapid-fire bullets. Shattering glass and stray gunshots left his head ringing as Jasdero started shooting madly within the small space. Jasdero grinned as he leaned over the table and a final bullet went off. When the dust cleared, the room went silent. Eventually the shell casing hit the floor and clattered in the quiet room. Allen staggered forward, but still couldn't tell what happened. Looking down, he saw his shirt beginning to stain a rich maroon; _did Jasdero actually shoot him?_

He fell to the floor, collapsing on the sea of glass Jasdero had destroyed. "Look's like our game of tag is over," he said while leaning over Allen.

Jadero kicked him over onto his back, and Allen coughed up blood while trying to stand up. He couldn't make it past propping his body up with his arms and collapsed. When Allen looked up at Jasdero standing over him, he looked more worried than cocky. "Ah, shit! I was told not to kill you! This is bad, bad, bad! Tyki is never going to forgive me! And the Earl-"

"Earl?" Allen questioned weakly. He held tightly onto his stomach, but the pain was only intensifying. He was fading off, and Jasdero's face was blurring.

"No, Allen! Don't go towards the light!" Jasdero cried out while shaking him.

"The hell is 'goin on down here?" Jasdero promptly let go of Allen, who crashed to the glass-strewn floor once again, and looked at three figures standing in the window.

"Stay out of this, street rats!" Jasdero said while pointing his gun at the shadowy figures.

Three guns pointed back at his face, and Jasdero paled at the sight of the towering figures.

"You're in the wrong part of town to be acting all high and mighty, little girl," One said while cracking his knuckles.

"Shooting up the streets, commitin' murder; the hell you think you're in, a crime scene show?"

"Hey, long time no see, you guys," Allen said weakly when he recognized the voices.

"Hey, you guys, look! It's little Allen, the one who lived off Third Street!" One of them said in excitement._ Little?_ Allen thought while twitching.

"The preacher's kid? Man, the whole neighborhood thought you burned up with him! I'm going to tear up, you guys." They all patted him on the back; one of them muttering that there wasn't any shame in tears.

"You know these guys?" Jasdero asked in disbelief as he did a double take between Allen and the three gruff figures. They looked like your average, middle-aged unshaven mugger, each with enough height and muscle to crush anyone who passed by.

"We go way back. The funny thing is," the first guy said, "when I first met him, I was trying to rob him on his way to school. It turns out Allen is a lot tougher than he looks, and I really got my ass handed to me back there. Eventually he'd pass by me every morning, sitting out in the street, and would always smile and wave. Nothing pissed me off more."

Allen laughed nervously when he remembered all his warm welcomes to the neighborhood. It was a miracle he survived the first couple of months with the numerous attempts to be murdered and robbed.

"He eventually started bringing me stuff, like food and spare change. Anyone who lives around here knows they don't have anything like that to give, and this little idiot still gave a lowlife like me stuff. And then when his dad started preaching,"

"This is a nice story and all, but the kid is bleeding out," Jasdero muttered while pointing at the gunshot wound.

"Don't interrupt a man when he's talking!" One of the men said and cocked his gun. Jasdero held up his hands and let the man continue.

"His sermons moved me to change my life. And therefore, anyone who messes with Allen," he leaned in close to Jasdero's terrified face, "is as good as dead."

Allen pulled himself up with the help of one of the men and gave them all a sweet wave and smile as he headed out the back door. They all waved back and said, "Take care, and do well in school Allen!"

"Yeah, gotta focus on your studies. That's your future!"

"Nice to see you again, Allen!"

"Wait, Allen, this isn't over!" Jasero called out, but was pulled back by the three figures.

Ignoring Jasdero, Allen nodded and exited the back door while the chorus of Jasdero's pleas for mercy rang out into the night. Knowing they weren't murderers, the sounds of a brawl and skin hitting skin left him satisfied enough to know that Jasdero was taken care of but not dead.

_How'd I end up in all of this? This is some warped form of reality,_ he thought. _Maybe I should've listened to Kanda in the first place; I really don't belong in any of this._

He held his abdomen tightly; pressure was the only way he was going to slow down the bleeding. The wound was just above his hip and there was an exit wound; that made life a lot easier.

"Sorry, Lenalee," He muttered and tore his sleeve off his right arm. He tied the fabric tightly against his waist to help put pressure on the wound. It wasn't nearly good enough, but it was better than nothing at this point.

No matter how much pressure he put on the wound or optimistic opinions he had, there was no way his stumbling and weary bloodstained trail was going to make it all the way to campus. The street suddenly became a rollercoaster, pulling him along in ups and downs of dizziness._ I'm hallucinating again, aren't I?_ Damn that Kanda.

Oh, yeah. He called him. Allen pulled out his phone and cursed when he saw that the screen was cracked. Worrying about something so insignificant at a time like this was such twisted irony. His vision was too blurry to read the screen, and suddenly the distraction made him trip over the curb.

_Ah, maybe if a fall in the street, a car will run over me and this will all be over,_ he thought in a twisted form of cheer. His descent was thwarted, however, by a very angry little golden face, which pushed him back up and promptly slapped him across the face.

"Tim," Allen said wearily. He couldn't remember when they'd gotten separated, but it was a relief that he was safe. Maybe Tim could identify his body to a passerby in the morning.

Almost as if he could hear Allen's thoughts, Timcampy started pulling at his hair until Allen was yelling and swatting him away. "I got it, I got it! No passing out, no dying!"

Satisfied, Timcampy sat on his shoulder and Allen pulled out his phone once again. Hitting the first name in his contacts that included the letter "K", he listened to the dial tone.

No answer.

Allen sourly put his phone back in his pocket and sighed. He was almost back to campus, miraculously. Apparently the goose-chase he'd taken Jasdero on led him closer to the school than he thought. There were a couple of faint yelling and gunshots, and when Allen finally saw the entrance to the school grounds, he blinked a couple of times in a sleepy haze. These drugs aren't too bad, once he got used to them. They sure did take the troubles and worries of dying away.

"Just when I thought I was out of this," Allen grumbled when he saw the intense battle between Kanda and Devit. Both of them looked exhausted but still determined; Devit with cuts all over him and Kanda with some serious wounds from the other's bullets. It didn't look like he'd been shot through and through anywhere, but he looked tired and worn down; this battle was going to end in a draw with both exhausted to death.

_They're so caught up in their battle, neither of them notice I'm here,_ he realized when he'd spent a minute or two standing in the street._ If I just snuck up behind Devit now and gave him a good blow to the back of the head, he'd be out._

Kanda blew Devit back right in front of the alley Allen was hiding in, and he had to jump back to avoid being hit by Devit. Kanda's successful attack, however, left him wide open and Devit laughed while aiming straight between Kanda's eyes. _It's now or never, I guess. _He jumped out of the shadows with a high kick aimed for the small of Devit's back. He landed a direct hit, sending Devit crashing to the pavement an unexpected face plant.

After the first few moments of confusion from the sudden assault, Devit threw Allen off of him and sent him tumbling to the ground instead.

"The hell did you come from? An attack like that won't knock me out, idiot."

"Bean," Kanda nearly fell over at the sight of him, "sprout?"

"It's Allen," he said spitefully. Devit put a foot on Allen's chest and cocked his gun at his forehead.

"Where do you get off, 'ya cursed freak? You can't just start using street rules in a real fight like this! That's just low! Wait, where the hell is Jasdero?" Devit asked while rubbing the back of his head in pain.

"You can't shoot me in the head. Jasdero already said you can't kill me," Allen replied smartly as the cool metal rested on his forehead.

"Don't just go saying shit cause you think you've outsmarted me," Devit yelled and shot a bullet right at his jaw. A little unfazed due to his already low chances of survival, Allen just winced when he heard the click of the gun. However, instead of a regular gunshot, this wasn't a bullet at all; it was like someone poured liquid nitrogen on his skin and throat. Little blue shards from the explosion bounced off like confetti and froze even the ground they rested on. He refused to scream or give the idiot any satisfaction, and kept a straight face with an undeniable scowl of pain.

"Why aren't you screaming or crying or begging for mercy? I don't get you at all!"

"You're ruining your clothes," he murmured out through his frozen jaw. Devit looked down and realized he was covered in blood; Allen's blood.

Devit backed off in horror and tried to wipe off all the red stains while gagging in disgust. "I told him not to go overboard! Tyki is going to skin us alive!"

Suddenly his cries of despair abruptly stopped, and through Allen's blurry vision he saw that Kanda managed to stab Devit right through the abdomen. He fell over, blood dripping out the side of his mouth and muttering out curses. Allen looked away from the gory scene; even he had his limits.

Kanda kicked his limp body over in disgust and rushed over to Allen. "Why'd you pull such a stupid stunt? We need to get you to a hospital, now!"

Allen hadn't ever been to a hospital, and if they expected him to take off his shirt, he wouldn't. "He was going to shoot you. Besides, what's a hospital going to do that I can't? We won't get there fast enough, anyway. Just take me back to my dorm room, and I can stop the bleeding myself."

_Allen looked over at Devit's unconscious and bleeding body; was he dead? Did that make Kanda just the same as Tyki? Who wasn't a killer at this point?_

* * *

After a loud and heated debate, they finally agreed to go back to Allen's dorm. Thankfully he hadn't lost the key, and they both nearly collapsed when they entered the room.

"You're going to die, you know that, right?" Kanda muttered as he watched Allen stumble for supplies to stop the bleeding.

"There's an exit wound, little to no internal bleeding, and I haven't passed out yet. I'll be fine," Allen said confidently. He promptly ran into the side of the wall, which he miscalculated as the entrance to the bathroom.

"Idiot," Kanda said.

Allen ignored him, grabbed a fresh shirt, and locked himself in the bathroom. _Not going to take any chances_. After taking off his bloodied shirt and makeshift tourniquet, he inspected the wound. It narrowly avoided his pelvic bone, with the bloodied indent just above his jutting hipbone. Such a pesky place to treat; couldn't Jasdero just have shot him in the arm?

"How'd you throw Jasdero off your trail?"

"Just got lucky," Allen replied. When only silence followed, Allen continued to bind his wound until it was so tight that he could barely breathe.

He threw a new shirt back on and inspected all the other scrapes and cuts. There was a sharp slash of a bullet into his skin on his lower left hip, but there was really nothing he could do for the rest of the wounds. For some odd reason, the skin that was frostbitten and icy along his neck and jaw was healing by itself. Even if it was slow and painful, it was relieving to know he didn't have to find a way to fix it.

With both of his legs impaired, walking was a difficult feat but still manageable. Putting on a brave face, he stepped out of the bathroom and noticed that Kanda was staring at his katana.

"Innocence, huh," Allen murmured absentmindedly. Kanda looked up suspiciously and eyed Allen from head to toe.

"You need real medical treatment," he said while standing up.

"And you need to stop nagging me so much. You really don't seem like the type of person to get so worked up about someone else." Kanda was effectively silenced and only responded with a resentful glare.

"Speaking of worrying about other people, where'd you get injured? I can help wrap it, at least," Allen replied while brushing off his own injuries.

Kanda was not letting this one go, much to Allen's dismay, and raised his voice. "This complete lack of care for yourself pisses me off. You really don't care that you've been drugged, shot at, and almost killed?"

"_You're_ the one who drugged me, I _was_ shot, and I didn't die," Allen replied as he went down the checklist. Annoyed beyond words, Kanda pushed him a little too roughly into the wall and pulled up at his shirt.

"Look! You've been shot clean through, Allen! I don't care how light you want to try to make this; you keep on pushing yourself to the verge of death! Why didn't you listen to me when I told you not to go?"

Allen hastily pushed Kanda away from his hip in pain and yelled, "Don't go lifting up people's shirts, you creep! I've already had enough of that tonight!" Flushed with embarrassment and alarm, Kanda backed off but still didn't lose his angry disposition.

"Do you really think if you go around drugging people everything is going to turn out well? Whatever just let me help you with those wounds. You obviously don't know how to treat them," Allen muttered and Kanda followed him into the bathroom.

"And how are you so sure? Of course I can."

"Liar," Allen said while wrapping his arm, "I could tell you didn't take care of the stab wounds correctly. With all the fights we get into, it's easy to tell when you were in pain."

Kanda didn't say anything in response and let Allen take care of it. "Sorry."

"For what?" Allen asked and pulled at the tape a little harder than he should've.

"For Tyki," he stopped and winced in pain, "I should've done something."

"Oh, that? It's no big deal. I assumed he was going to pull something anyway, and besides, something a lot worse could've happened when I passed out," Allen said._ Why is he blushing so much? He acts like it was him or something. Maybe he's just not good with these kinds of things._

"Although the romantic idea of a sweet first kiss is now destroyed," he said sarcastically. Thinking about it, he realized that Kanda couldn't even hold friendships together, so a successful relationship with anyone was impossible. He probably hadn't even liked anyone before, and wasn't going to for the rest of his lonely life.

"But you don't actually know what happened after you passed out?" Kanda said incredulously.

Allen pondered the thought for a moment, and then forced all the horrible images out of his head. "No," he admitted in embarrassment.

After a lot of cursing and arguing, Allen finished up and stumbled out of the bathroom, tottering and swaying as his legs gave out beneath him.

"Hey!" Kanda barely managed to catch him and keep him upright. He looked Allen in the eyes, who was steadily losing consciousness, and shook him violently until Allen managed to keep himself awake._ He's completely lost himself,_ Kanda grimaced. He helped Allen over to his bed, who thankfully collapsed into the blankets.

"It's probably not safe for you to go back to your dorm, Kanda; you lost a lot of blood too. Just sleep over here," he mumbled.

Agreeing that Allen was right, he asked, "Do you just want me to sleep on the floor, or-?"

"My bed is big enough for two people." He looked over and noticed Kanda's hesitant expression. "Don't make such a big deal out of it, you idiot. At least I'm not making you sleep on the bathroom floor."

_He's delirious and even more obnoxious than usual,_ Kanda thought when he noticed the obvious flush to Allen's skin and slurred speech. _But I can't just leave him alone like this, either._ He reluctantly slipped out of his boots and jacket and rested beneath the covers.

"Sleep on your side if the drugs make you throw up in your sleep," Kanda reminded him.

"Goodnight to you too," Allen mumbled and shifted so he was facing Kanda.

_Almost held it together until the end, didn't you, Allen? He's was a lot stronger then I give him credit for, but he still wasn't going to live if he kept needlessly putting himself in danger. The fact that he'd given up his first kiss solely for information was a little terrifying too. I haven't kissed anyone, and I'm a couple years older than him, _Kanda thought.

Allen opened one eye and glared at Kanda. He pulled the covers tighter and said,"Stop brooding and go to sleep."

"I hope you have the hangover from hell tomorrow," Kanda responded. Allen scoffed but couldn't be bothered to reply and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"I should probably get up," Allen mumbled when he eyed the clock. It was only eight in the morning, but he couldn't get comfortable with this wound anyway. His head was spinning still, and sleeping on what felt like ocean waves was almost impossible.

"Why are you up so early? There are a couple more hours until mid-day classes start," a voice muttered from beneath the covers.

"My side hurts too much to sleep." Allen slightly lifted up his shirt and noticed the bandages were stained red; he was going to need to fix that soon. He didn't even disinfect the wound, which meant if he didn't drown the wound in peroxide he was going to end up with an infection. He needed painkillers too.

"This is going to be such a pain to fix," he groaned.

Kanda peeked out from under the covers and replied surly, "Maybe you should _go_ to a hospital where trained professionals will do it correctly_ for_ you."

"I don't even have life insurance. Besides, that's a waste of money in the first place." Kanda gave him a look of contempt and Allen matched it with a sarcastic smile.

It occurred to him that they were lying in the same bed and not ripping each other's throats out. Allen didn't trust him, didn't know him, and didn't get along with him, but they'd both come to respect each other at least. No, he _did_ trust Kanda, but not in the normal sense. There was just an aura he gave off that made Allen feel safer than if he was with Lavi or Lenalee. Maybe it wasn't called trust, but he couldn't think of another name for it.

Allen looked over at Kanda, who was staring at him with what looked like the same thoughts, and asked, "Why aren't you wearing a shirt? Wait, your wounds are gone!"

"It was covered in blood. Your blood, to be exact," he replied smartly. Allen wondered if he looked half as disheveled as Kanda did right now; his raven hair wasn't tied up and strewn about everywhere, and there was a little blood on his face. I'm going to need to wash these sheets with an entire bottle of bleach, he thought while scowling at all the blood they got in his room. Hopefully Komui doesn't have any surprise inspections planned for the next couple of days.

"But your injuries healing up just like that; it has something to do with the innocence, right? You barely look hurt," Allen said while looking him over.

_Why doesn't it work like that for me?_ A wave of pain and nausea rocked his stomach and the second the words left his mouth he ran to the bathroom. Heaving up all the unmentionables he ingested last night, he cursed when he tasted the alcohol on his lips.

"What the hell did you even drug me with, you idiot," Allen yelled while trying to hold himself together.

"Your phone won't stop going off," Kanda commented over the sound of Allen throwing up. He took it off the nightstand and looked at the caller ID.

Allen rummaged through a box he kept next to the sink until he found the medicine he was looking for, washing it down with a handful of water. Finding an excuse for this to tell Lenalee was going to be worse than the pain, he thought.

"What do you want, Lenalee?"

"Hey, Kanda, you can't just go answering my phone! You aren't even supposed to be here!" _Don't be so rude, either._

"Kanda? Why do you have Allen's phone?"

"Long story," he replied, obviously too bothered to even tell a lie.

"You two didn't call me last night so I wasn't sure you made it home okay," she said worriedly. "Can we all go out and get some coffee, or something? I doubt Lavi will pick up the phone in the next twenty-four hours though."

"No," he replied and tried to hang up.

"Wait! You two owe me a whole night's worth of worrying!"

Kanda sighed and looked over to Allen for an excuse. He only shrugged his shoulders, and Kanda reluctantly replied, "Fine. See you in an hour."

* * *

"You two look horrible." Lenalee glowered at their sorry state when she met up with them in front of the gate. She was, as usual, glowing with cheeriness as if she'd gotten a full night's sleep, but their sour disposition was dampening the mood. Kanda and he barely stopped to get the blood off of them and treat their wounds before meeting her.

"Thanks a lot, Lenalee. It was a bit of a rough night, but that's what you get for drinking," Allen said with as much cheer as he could._ My mouth still tastes awful even after brushing my teeth twice_, he thought.

"I can't believe we let you get lost, especially while intoxicated," she replied as they started walking.

"Don't worry about it. Everything turned out fine," he replied, but Kanda scoffed at his glossy remark.

"Something funny?" Allen said while glaring.

"Oh, nothing. It's just your stupid little pet is about to get hit by a car," Kanda replied while crossing his arms. Allen looked out into the street in dismay and saw that Timcampy was hopelessly floating around in the crosswalk.

"Tim!" Allen yelled and ran off after the darting golden golem.

"Why's he limping, Kanda?" Lenalee asked while biting her lip. Kanda didn't answer, and watched Timcampy start to dodge Allen's attempts to grab him.

"I got a full report from the Order last night, Kanda. You involved Allen in your renegade movement, didn't you?" She pulled on his arm to get his attention, but he tried his best not to get involved in her emotional whirlpool. The longer you looked at Lenalee's sullen face, the more and more sorry you felt.

"I didn't realize there would be Black Order spies at the venue last night," he said curtly.

"After Daisya died, we started to do research on the Mikk's, and then I realized you were going and," she stopped and held her breath as a car almost flattened Allen, "We lost track of you after the explosion; everything past there is a dead zone in information."

"Did you really wake me up this early and expect me to tell you anything?" Kanda replied.

"No, Kanda. I just want you to come back; I don't want to be enemies! Kanda, I-"

"You saw what they did to Suman, Lenalee, everyone did. The Order even tried to take our innocence. You lost your Dark Boots already, didn't you?"

"Well, yes, but if innocence is really such a dangerous thing then maybe we shouldn't have it, Kanda! Besides, what happened to Suman was an accident! You saw the look on the science department's faces, and-"

"The science department didn't do it. It was Malcolm's elite who performed the experiment; they pushed him so far that he turned into one of the deadliest weapons in existence. If there were any more parasitic-type exorcists in the order still left alive they'd have done it to them too."

"Creating fallen one's is just a conspiracy theory, Kanda! There isn't any proof! No one would purposefully kill us exorcists!" Lenalee was yelling and holding back tears. "Suman was one of us!"

"There's proof if you open your eyes," Kanda muttered back.

"If you won't come back, at least do me one thing. Don't drag Allen in this, even if he's able to spot demons. He doesn't deserve this. I saw what you put in my drink, but I wanted him out of that house just as badly as you did and didn't do a thing! And now-"

"Lenalee! I spent every moment since I met him trying to not get him involved! It doesn't matter anymore now that he's got the Noah after him! Being related to Cross in any way is a death wish!" Kanda yelled back, and Lenalee looked even more afraid than before.

Kanda continued, "If neither of us tell our side that he even exists, he can fly under the radar for a while. But if the Order comes anywhere near him, I won't hesitate to fight back. Even against you, Lenalee."

"You couldn't even protect him last night, Kanda! If I get the Order to protect him and relocate him, he can be away from the Noah's and away from your stupid rebel group!"

"Oh really, Lenalee? What do you think the Order is going to do the second they find out about him? "Relocate" is another word for disposing of the evidence; they'll either use him as an experiment or slit his throat on the spot. You're so naïve it's sickening."

"I didn't want any of this," she said while sobbing, "I don't want any of this! I just wanted to help people!"

"Like I said, you can't protect anything."

"H-Hey you two," Allen said politely while holding Tim. "Coffee?"

* * *

Lenalee eventually stopped crying but Kanda's resentful mood stuck around like a plague as Allen tried to hold them together. After promising that he'd only been standing behind their argument for a few seconds, they all agreed to go ahead. Of course, it'd only taken a minute or so to grab Tim, and he'd heard just about everything.

"I'm just glad you're both safe," she murmured while sipping her drink. They'd made it to the coffee shop, but the worker seemed scared of the depressing mood they all brought in. They sat at a table in the back, but it didn't particularly matter; no one was here.

"I can't do this. You two can't really expect me to ignore this stalemate you have going on," Allen said with a sigh. They both looked over at him, then at each other, and then back at their drinks.

After a couple of silent minutes, Allen went out on a limb and asked, "Why'd you both join the Order, anyway?"

Lenalee spat out her drink in a not-so-lady-like display and Kanda glared over at Allen. "So you did hear us," he said.

"You were both yelling and crying in broad daylight."

"It's not really safe to talk about the Order out like this," she murmured while looking around.

"There's no one here, Lenalee. Why don't you tell Allen something nice about you murderers," Kanda said when he noticed the place was empty. It was a small coffee shop and the sun had barely risen on a Sunday; anyone in his or her right mind was back at home sleeping.

Annoyed that Kanda put her on the spot, she replied, "It all depends on what Kanda told you first, of course. He probably filled your head full of conspiracy theories and,"

"I went to Tyki for information," Allen said and let the shock drain the color out of Lenalee's face.

"So that's why last night happened," she mumbled as she put it all together. "Well,"

"Wait," Allen said and looked around. He could feel a different presence, like the intense spikes of cold and goose bumps that laced his skin. It was different than his usual instincts, more exact this time, he realized as he looked around. The only other people in the room were the two workers. The closer Allen looked at the cashier, however, the more a purple aura seemed to ooze out of their pale skin.

"Allen, what's wrong?" Kanda asked and grabbed his arm when he tried to stand up.

_My eye, it's gotten stronger, hasn't it?_ He thought while remembering the sharp pain he'd gotten when the last akuma attacked him.

"That girl isn't human," he watched as both of the workers looked over at the three simultaneously, "she isn't a ghost, either. She's a demon." The different feeling he was getting; was it because these two demons weren't ghosts and were already far beyond the point Mary had been?

"I knew they'd be after us the second we showed up off campus," Kanda said and pulled out his katana. The second the sword was out in the open, the demons gave up their human shells and ripped through the skin until their true form was revealed. One was a giant snake-like being with reddened scales and a towering height, but the other disappeared entirely. The first akuma's body curled around the entire shop, circling the three and blocking the exits effectively with its tail.

"Kanda, you have no chance against two level two's!" Lenalee yelled.

"Hmm, so it's true you can see demons and ghosts? How spooky!"

"That doesn't sound like another akuma, Allen." Lenalee trembled and held onto his shoulder tightly she scanned the room for the other enemy.

"Where's the second one? No, it can't be," Kanda said in disbelief as he stepped in front of the other two, holding his katana out defensively.

Allen heard two light taps on the ground behind him, like someone jumping from the last stair on a staircase, and then a pat on his shoulder.

"It's nice to meet you, Allen Walker."

* * *

**About the late update: this week was all kinds of hectic. I had to make a lot of future-deciding plans for college and careers and needless to say I was stressed to the point of not sleeping. Excuses are lame I know, but still, sorry for not updating over the week. **

**Lenalee isn't as stupid as she looks, now is she? (She actually is).**

**Who's right about the suspicious Order: Kanda or Lenalee? What actually happened to cause the Order to split up? Are Jasdero and Devit dead? (You wish). Who is the mystery character?!**

**(So, we're finally in the double digits and I just want to say thank you for all your support! And that you guys are awesome, and amazing, and…)**


	11. Snake

She was small, much smaller than the tone she commanded. Her voice was soft as silk but spiked with vinegar, a polite and equally devious tone that matched the hidden agenda beneath her smile.

Allen looked around and realized the building they were once in was slowly distorting; the wallpaper of the shop ripped at the seams and curled off in ribbons, revealing nothing but a black abyss behind it. The tiled flooring crumbled like puzzle pieces around their feet, but the nothingness it exposed beneath held steady as if it were actually a floor. The entire room seemed to be collapsing into nothing but an empty, nonexistent space.

"You can call me Road, Road Camelot. Welcome to my wonderland," she said sweetly. With a smile that could cause cavities, she wouldn't break eye contact will Allen who couldn't match the twisted curiosity in her eyes. _  
_

Everything about her was unorthodox; the short, choppy hair wasn't something you'd see on the average little girl. She dressed like a child lost on Halloween, with striped tights and a loosened, white shirt. _How did she create this room? Wait,_ s_he's openly siding with the akuma; in fact, she controls it, doesn't she?_

"What's going on?" Lenalee asked as she watched the walls melt like wax.

"The shop you entered," the girl began, "never really existed at all. You three sure are a bunch of idiots, aren't you?" Her tone shifted mid sentence like the seasons, and instead of a soft smile she now had a twisted grin painted on her face. There was something off about her that Allen couldn't put his finger on; he felt like he was grasping at smoke while trying to figure out what was so familiar.

As the room dissolved completely, all that was left were floating candles that lit up the murky abyss. Flickering and sharpened to points, they surrounded the space that the snake-like demon outlined. Even though Allen's life hadn't made much sense recently, this was a whole new level of skewed reality. Wide-eyed, he couldn't hide his stunned expression and stared blankly at the girl who seemed to be the root of this phenomenon.

"Why are you looking at me like that, Allen?" She said and gingerly brushed his left hand to prove her existence. He flinched at her chilling touch but didn't pull back his hand. There was definitely something wrong with her; she felt deadly, as if venom coated her fingertips and poisoned what she dared to touch.

She wrapped a hand around his bow and pulled him in close so that she could whisper in his ear. Softly, she murmured, "I'm real, Allen."

"Allen, look out!"

Taking advantage of his momentary vulnerability, she beckoned for a candle floating midair to shoot in his direction. Allen only saw a flash of the candy-cane patterned candle for a split second before he screamed out in pain. It impaled him in the same place Jasdero wounded him, tearing open the bullet-wound anew. Road started laughing and stepped back as if she was playing hopscotch.

"What are you trying to do, Road? We aren't here to fight you!" Lenalee yelled in shock.

"She must have gotten wind of us from Tyki, Lenalee," Kanda responded as he eyed the demon.

Road's face soured when she noticed Lenalee who trembling but still resentful, and Kanda, who was geared up to attack Road at any given chance.

"You humans really pisses me off," she said in disgust while looking down at three, and with a flick of the wrist her demon recoiled and prepared for an attack._ She's talking to us as if she isn't human, but I don't sense her as a demon._

Aimed at Kanda, the snake hissed and lunged to take a bite out of him. Kanda managed to hold the creature's sharp fangs off with a block from his katana.

"You still side with the Order, right, Miss Lee?" Without waiting for a response, she shot another candle aimed for Lenalee. Allen snatched her out of the way at the last second, sending the candle spinning past her cheek.

"If you have a complaint with the Order, take it up with them!" Kanda yelled from afar. Allen looked over at Kanda who was locked in battle already, carving up the nameless demon. However, he was being too reckless and careless in his anger; the snake swept him off his feet with its tail the second he left an opening.

"No, it's not like I want only the slaves of the Order to die," she replied and miserly paced circles around Allen and Lenalee while shooting stray darts, "and it's not like Tyki or Millennie sent me."

Allen already knew that she was aiming for Lenalee when she flicked her wrist and laughed. He threw his arm out in front of the two candles heading for both of her eyes and winced as they bit into his right arm. Lenalee gasped in terror and tried to step in front of Allen, but he held her back. _If she's not with the Order or Kanda's group, then she must side with the Noah's._ Lenalee had no innocence to protect her if what Kanda said was true, which made her more defenseless than Allen.

"Just like you puny innocence users, I have a job straight from God. You see," She commanded her weapons like an orchestra major, waving her hands up and down while sending deadly spires at Lenalee and Allen.

"God is sick of you pathetic little beings; he doesn't want you anymore. You're nothing but inferior trash. And I'm just helping him out by cleaning up the mess!"

"If you're so high and mighty, what's your motive in trapping three insignificant people like us? Seems a little beneath you." Allen looked over at the sound of Kanda's sarcastic words and noticed he was losing ground against the giant snake, but Allen didn't have a lifeline to throw him. _Unless I used my innocence..._

The thought had already crossed his mind more than once, but exposing it to Road and both of the other sides seemed like the worst idea possible. He was dead if he didn't and dead if he did, utterly stuck between Road's sadist ways and his own friends.

"I just wanted to meet Tyki's new friends, that's all," she pouted and threw a candle in his direction. Kanda narrowly dodged it, but the attack left him open for the demon to take advantage of and he was blown backward. With a satisfied laugh, she looked back over at the pair.

_There's nowhere to run_, he thought as he took two more hits for Lenalee.

"Allen, stop! You're going to die!" His own mortality was sinking in as all his wounds old and new clouded up his thoughts with pain. _How did it all fall apart so quickly, once again?_ Last night, he had somewhere to run; there was always a way out. However, in this empty room, he had nothing to work with and no escape.

"Are you just going to protect her until you die? You aren't much fun to play games with." Dodging the hits coming after him wasn't an option anymore; Lenalee was too worn out to avoid the attacks properly and if he moved, she would be hit instead. It seemed Road was truly starting to get bored, and stopped to ponder something.

"Hmm? You can't protect her from what's inside, though," Road said and tapped on her own head. Before Allen could even question her, Lenalee shrieked and fell to her knees.

"Lenalee? Where'd you get hit?" She was pulling at her hair and repeatedly shaking her head, as if trying to force a bad memory out. No matter how loudly he called out to her, she was completely unresponsive.

"She's in a different place, Allen. See that dead look in her eyes?" Road said, suddenly appearing behind him and pointing.

"Why," he brushed Lenalee's hair off of her paling face and gritted his teeth, "why are you doing this?" He looked back at Road with anger and bitterness and she seemed sympathetic in the exchanged look.

"She's weak, even weaker than the rest of you miserable humans," Road said while running her hands through her hair. Allen pulled Lenalee away from Road's touch and picked her up, holding her unconscious body up with his bloodied arms.

"Are you going off to have Kanda protect you? Maybe he's stronger, but no one can escape themselves," Road said while eyeing Kanda. It wasn't obvious at first, but Kanda was faltering in his steps and breathing heavy. _What is she doing to them?_

"I can pull anyone out of reality if their mind is weak enough. They'll get lost in their own nightmares," she said as if to answer his question. Allen looked down at Lenalee, who was looking worse than before as her face contorted in an inner struggle.

Allen rushed past Road and weaved his way past the snake until he was running in tune with the sound of her ringing laughter._ Kanda doesn't have any time left,_ he thought as he dodged a sweep from the snake's tail._ No matter how hard he fights, Road will take him down too, without even hitting him._

"You're at your limit, too, aren't you?" Allen asked when he finally met back up with him. Kanda was bleeding in several different places, some worse than others. He gave an indignant glance over at Allen for his remark, but winced in pain as his head throbbed even worse.

"You are past yours. Besides, this bastard is finished," Kanda replied. He braced himself with his sword and the blade began to glow in a flickering light, intensifying with every second until a green glow surrounded the hilt.

"Better to go out all the way than wait it out." He ran forward while swinging his glowing blade, aiming right down the center of the snake. Thrusting his blade straight through its mouth, a bright blast enveloped the two. Tattered and too weak to put up any more fight, the snake fell and went still. Kanda staggered back to Allen and Lenalee and growled, "Where's that psycho girl?"

The second the words left his mouth, a barrage of spiked weapons rained down on all three of them. He wasn't sure which happened first: Kanda's gasp of pain or the sudden stop of the assault. His katana was hovering above Allen's head, and a sudden drop of blood stained Allen's cheek. When he looked up, and he realized there was a candle thrust straight through Kanda's palm, headed to split Allen's skull.

"Kanda," Allen said in horror as his grip loosened on his sword and he swayed in place.

"When you find a way out," he fell forward and Allen caught him, "make sure it's big enough for all of us to fit through, moyashi."

Allen buckled under the weight of Kanda's comatose body and his sword clattered on the ground. Road's spell was in full effect on them both, and they were ghostly pale with expressions contorted in pain. He set Kanda down next to Lenalee and tried not to think about how to wake them up. There gnawing pain in his thoughts, but didn't allow the thought of being taken over by her even cross his mind.

He heard a shifting and hissing around him, and realized the snake's body was moving. _It was still alive._ He looked over at the snake's head and saw the dark soul still hugging tightly to the distorted demon shell.

"You can eat them now," Road said and the snake animated once again.

_It can't end like this,_ Allen thought as the serpent recoiled in preparation to eat him.

_It can't just be over. I promised Lenalee and Kanda I would save them._ The towering snake lunged forward, straight for his head. He closed his eyes and felt the black room close in on him. There was a silence between the lifeless bodies of Lenalee and Kanda and the empty room. Softly in the slow motion of the room that surrounded him, he could hear someone shedding tears. It reminded him of a little boy with a skinned knee, or maybe a small girl whose doll just broke.

Allen reopened only his left eye and instead of seeing the serpent, he instead saw the soul of the demon. It was much more ragged than the other one's he'd come across, but to some degree it still resembled the little boy he heard crying.

_I didn't just promise Lenalee and Kanda; I made a promise long ago, too. I promised Mana I'd keep going, no matter what._

"Innocence," Allen said even before he knew what he was doing.

_I'll protect everyone, not just the ones I love. This isn't just for Kanda or Lenalee, it's for Mana too. It's for every spirit I've failed to protect. I'll protect everything that's important to me, starting with this akuma. Road can't be right; there's no way God could forsake us all._

"Activate!" His arm burst into a bright green light and when it died down, it was a gun rather than the claw he expected. He didn't have time to speculate and instead went on intuition, shooting at the creature as its mouth closed around him.

The snake heaved back in pain and Road's haughty smile turned into one full of cynical curiosity. "Little Allen's finally ready to play!"

_She knew I had innocence?_

As he continued to fight with the snake, he distinctly remembered his conversation with the jester ghost about the Earl. He remembered the figure he saw in the moonlight before he passed out; the Noah's knew long before he even knew they existed.

She knew. All the Noah knew. Tyki confirmed it at the party when he touched his hand. She checked when she touched him, too.

"Are you just now remembering meeting Millennie? You _are_ such an idiot, aren't you? Did you hold back on me only because you didn't want me to know? Or was it for them?"

Even with Allen's rapidly decreasing strength, the demon was too exhausted from Kanda's assault to put up any fight. It bit into his right arm on a lucky final attack, and firmly anchored its fangs to him in its last-ditch effort. Allen gritted his teeth but willingly deactivated his arm, placing the glowing hand on the head of the giant snake. It took a few moments for his brain to process past the pain and to the task at hand, but the cross on his hand lit up soon after.

"You don't have to suffer anymore," Allen said softy and the cross' light intensified until it blurred out his vision. When he looked back, there was just a little boy left in the husks of decaying snakeskin that seemed to swallow the room whole.

"What are you doing? You're supposed to kill it in a grand finale," Road muttered from behind him. She sounded angry if anything else; apparently Allen wasn't playing by the rules of her game.

"I don't want to kill anyone. I want to save my friends," he said while looking fondly over at the pair collapsed on the ground, "but I want to save the akuma, too."

"Save the akuma?" Road repeated, as if it was the strangest thing she'd ever heard.

He ignored her and watched the soul fade away, burning from green embers to white dust. From behind him, Road swung a parasol like a scythe down on the soul and it shattered the figure straight down the middle. The white sparkles turned to ash and the green figure began to rot into black tar.

"Sorry, not everyone gets a free pass to heaven," she said and swung again as if she were hitting a golf ball. This time her parasol destroyed the remnants of the soul until they cracked and crumbled.

"I thought," a voice cried out, "I thought you said I wouldn't have to suffer, Allen?" He looked down in horror and saw the broken soul, fading dimly away. Road broke off into a horrible and crooked laugh, and he fell to his knees in shock. The little boy, his soul was ground up into dust.

The boy didn't pass on.

Road started kicking up the ashes and taunted, "Where do you think he goes now, Allen? Down to hell? Maybe he gets to live eternally as dust like the scum he is!"

The voice was slowly drifting off, its pleas for saving fading off into the depths of nowhere.

_It hurts, Allen. What did I do to deserve this, God?_

_Why?_

"What did you do?" Allen shouted in anger and reactivated his innocence. He pointed the gun-shaped weapon at her forehead, but she seemed completely undisturbed and still wickedly smiling. He trembled and steeled himself to shoot, but something inside pulled him back.

"Why don't you kill me? I just destroyed a soul in front of you, and I've tried to kill you this whole time," she replied and took a step forward the barrel of his gun. His thoughts felt like gunfire, fueled with blood loss and anger, and shot off faster than he could process them.

_A human. She's human. I can't kill her. Even if she's killed people, so many people, she still has some worth, doesn't she? He looked at her through his left eye and realized that there wasn't a soul registering for her. What did that make her?_

She put her hand against his arm and pushed past it until she was face to face with him. "You are too kind. That weakness is going to get you killed."

Snapping her fingers, a giant checkered door appeared behind her. It towered above both of them, but Allen knew the door meant that the battle was over. He just glared back at her curious face and held back bitter tears for the boy. _I can't avenge you, I'm sorry._

"Five minutes," she said while walking to the door, "after that, this door will collapse and you'll be stuck here forever. And Allen,"

"Don't bother waking them up if you want to make it out in time. If you try to take them out like this, they'll come out brain-dead, anyway." She sauntered over to the door with her parasol but stopped short on the entrance.

"I hope we meet again, Allen Walker," she murmured and shut the checkered door behind her.

The second she left, the room began to shake with bone-rattling tremors. He ran over to Lenalee and Kanda, both still unconscious.

"Please," he called out, "please don't be dead! Snap out of it! Kanda! Lenalee!" Neither of them responded and the floor began to crack_. I won't leave here without you._

He glanced back at the remains of the soul Road destroyed and, through his left eye, noticed that the soul was gone. But to where?

Another giant tremor sent his attention back to Lenalee and Kanda, but when he looked back at them he fell back in shock. His left eye revealed that Lenalee and Kanda weren't unconscious; their souls, bathed in a rich white light, were coated with dark ooze and gave off a deadly aura.

"Road sent demons to possess them," he said aloud in disbelief as he leaned over Kanda. Their pure souls looked so fragile and thin, ready to snap at any moment.

He lifted his bloody, glowing hand but hesitated to touch Kanda. _What if it causes him pain, or worse, what if I do it wrong?_ The boom of the room beginning its final split left him with no other option. He lightly placed his fingers on Kanda's forehead, and the second his reddened skin came in contact with the other's porcelain face, a bright light sparked beneath his touch.

Kanda stirred a little;_ did that mean it was working?_ Allen watched the two souls slowly separate and continued to focus whatever strength he had left in him. The second the two souls parted, however, he screamed in pain as the fragments of the angry demon burnt and bit at his hand. _I can't pull away, Kanda's not conscious yet, _he thought and looked away as his skin started to unzip in slices releasing black ooze.

The blackened soul detached completely from the other and burnt up in a bright white light, but Kanda still hadn't returned._ I still can't let go, not until I know it's safe._ He bit his lip until blood started to slip down his chin. This soul wasn't looking for retribution like the others; it was full of spite and anger. He closed his eyes and tried to focus somewhere else, as if the pain would leave with his thoughts.

He heard a gasp of air from beneath him and yanked his arm back so that it was hidden behind him. In one swift movement, he took his still intact glove and slipped it onto his left hand and not his right. The evil soul turned from its diseased black to a warm yellow, and Allen heard a soft, gruff, _thank you._

_I won't lose my purpose. I won't lose anyone else close to me._

"Allen!" Kanda yelled as he came back to life. Kanda grabbed him by his collar and shook him out of his daze. Allen smiled while holding in tears when he saw Kanda's usual angry and concerned complexion.

"I thought," he stopped and fought his own choked up throat, "I thought you weren't coming back."

Kanda's expression softened and he glanced around the destroyed room, and then at the door. The floor on the outskirts of the room was long gone, and the space was well on its way of collapsing. He let go of Allen's collar and pulled himself up into a sitting position. "The room won't hold up much longer, will it?"

"We only have a minute or two before the door evaporates, but Lenalee is still unconscious. If we take her out like this, she'll die!" Allen said and sat by her._ But can I survive that again?_

"We have no choice then," Kanda said stiffly and stood up. Allen couldn't even comprehend his suggestion and glared at Kanda.

"Don't you dare suggest that we-"?

"It's all of our lives versus hers, Allen!" Kanda shouted back. When Allen didn't reply, Kanda ran off to the far side of the room where his sword was still laying.

_If I pull this soul out of Lenalee quick enough, we'll be able to make it._ Without hesitating or waiting for Kanda to stop him, he clasped hands with both of Lenalee's cold palms and felt an overwhelming wave of terror shake him.

_This ghost is much stronger,_ he thought while sick to his stomach. Sickly wounds and dark ooze covered both of his hands, although his left arm was already painted black from touching Kanda first. He could feel Lenalee crying out from beneath the ghoul's deathly grasp and tried harder to pull the two souls apart.

He cried out in pain as the ghost unwillingly pried itself from Lenalee and spat venom back at Allen. Since it had no body of its own, the ghost could only hurt him from where he was touching Lenalee. The blood and venom it was spitting out was burning his skin like corrosive acid, and it took everything not to let go of Lenalee.

"Allen, what the hell are you doing?" Kanda yelled as he appeared in front of him. Allen's vision was too spotty to make out anything in front of him and he closed his eyes and clung tighter to Lenalee's hands until his nails were about to cut open her skin.

"Let go! You're killing yourself!" Kanda put a hand on his shoulder but pulled his hand back the second he touched Allen. He looked at his stinging hand and then back at Allen, at a loss as to what was going on.

"I'm not," he hissed through the pain, "leaving anyone behind!" _Road set this up; she knew I'd figure out a way to save them, but I'd only be able to save one._ He was never good with games; he always cheated.

"The door is collapsing, damn it!"

"Allen! We don't have any time left!"

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Allen looked over at Kanda and smiled faintly. "Go, Kanda. I'll meet up with you."

"Don't give me that bullshit!" Kanda yelled and grabbed his arm.

"I can't go back to that hell without," he faltered and tightened his grip on Allen's arm, "I won't leave you here to die."

"You have to trust me then," Allen replied and winced as the demon loosened its grip on Lenalee again. Her face twitched a little, signaling that he was finally getting through to her.

"Allen, we're all going to die here if we don't go now!"

"Trust me," Allen repeated, and smiled at Kanda's sullen and supremely confused expression. Kanda glanced at Allen, and then back at the door. Through pursed lips, Kanda nodded in agreement against his better judgment.

"Three," Allen said as he breathed out. The ghoul suddenly cried out in terror as Allen put all his energy into forcing it out.

"Two." The door cracked like lightning and split like the sound of gunfire.

"You better have a plan," Kanda said warily as he watched the door fade away.

"One." Lenalee's skin glowed with a soft luminescence, starting from her fingertips and spreading to her entire frame. Allen's skin felt like it was splitting at the seams and his head was reeling in pain, but he focused only on the thought of saving both Lenalee and the ghost.

Lenalee slowly came around, coughing as air suddenly filled up her lungs once again. "Allen?"

"Allen, let go!" Kanda pulled the unresponsive Allen's hands and Lenalee's hands apart. After taking a moment to regain her bearings, she sat up and looked around.

"Did you guys," Lenalee started tearing up, "did you guys lose your chance to escape because of me?"

When neither Kanda nor Allen replied, she slapped Kanda across the face.

"You should've gotten out of here and left me! We both knew we'd die in battle, we pledged our lives the second we joined the Order! It's your job to protect people like Allen from dying in our place!"

They both started yelling in desperation and anger, and Allen slowly came back into awareness. The room was done for, and didn't have more than a couple of minutes left till it met the same fate as the door. He bet Kanda and Lenalee''s life on a gamble, now it was time to see if he was bluffing.

Fishing through his pocket, he pulled out the small key ring he always had on him. The fabric of his pocket stung when it brushed up against his ripped skin and he left a trail of black blood against the seam. The key ring held the key to his old house, his dorm, a school key he'd borrowed from Lenalee, and, lastly, the key Tyki gave him back on the roof.

"Hey," Allen said, but the other two couldn't hear his fragile voice over the crashing ceiling and arguments.

He pulled the key closer to his face and tried to see what was written on it, but his vision was too blurry. When he first received it, he knew it wasn't a normal key; it was shaped like a vintage, French door key with a large, heart-shaped hoop on the end. Comparing the way this room worked to the way the one on the roof did meant that, hopefully, this skeleton key would work with both.

Placing the key down on the floor in front of him, he grabbed both of their hands and didn't even try to listen to their objections. Lenalee commented on his blackened hands and skin from the scars the demons left, and even Kanda looked a bit appalled by the state of his skin. Ignoring them both, he focused on the key as the floor beneath them snapped in half.

The key resonated with the crashing cymbals of the room and encapsulated everything in a rich, white blanket.

* * *

All three of them came tumbling down the stairs and crashing in a heap at the bottom of the stairwell. Lenalee apologized and pulled herself off Kanda, who cursed and stepped off Allen.

"What the hell? Are we back in the school?" Kanda said as he looked around the dirty stairwell.

"No way," Lenalee said in wonder while dusting herself off.

"The key linked us from the room Road's created downtown to her room on the roof," Allen said as he looked at the now worn key. Unlike the other two, he really didn't have the strength left to get up.

"How'd you know that the roof was one of Road's rooms?" Kanda said suspiciously and stood up. Wait, Kanda doesn't have any wounds. Allen looked over at Lenalee and realized she was completely unscathed, too.

"I didn't," Allen admitted. Kanda looked as if he were about to burst a blood vessel, but Lenalee managed to protect Allen from Kanda's foot.

"Don't be so uptight, Kanda. At least you alive," Allen said as Lenalee helped him stand.

"I'm the uptight one? You were the one crying back there," Kanda said as he realized he wasn't hurt at all.

"I could've left your ass behind, Bakanda," Allen yelled back.

"Allen," she looked at him with eyes brimming with happiness, "you didn't leave me."

Allen and Kanda stopped arguing and all three of them looked at each other in mutual agreement; they all made it, and they were okay.

"So what do we tell Lavi, exactly?"

* * *

After a much-needed winter break was announced, they all decided to go out to eat on Christmas Eve. In a packed but still roomy restaurant, the four of them hopped into a bar table with Lavi and Allen on one side and Lenalee and Kanda on the other. For some reason, the three of them had acted odd all day, but Allen couldn't just outright ask what was going on with them without proof.

"Can you guys believe it's almost Christmas?" Lavi said excitedly as he downed his soup.

Allen felt his mood fly south for the winter; it'd only been one week since the incident with Road and he was still not in top condition. Somehow he'd escaped a visit to the hospital once again, much to Lenalee and Kanda's dismay. They begrudgingly agreed that he couldn't go anywhere with the cuts the ghosts left. And with a thinly veiled excuse as having some sort of abnormal spiritual power, they didn't even mention the subject of innocence toward him.

Allen's skin was slowly healing from the incident, but he was still wary of who knew what. Worst of all, Tyki disappeared without a trace ever since the party, something scarier than his presence. Allen felt like he owed him a "Thank You for Saving Us from Your Friend's Death Trap" card or something. Although, it was probably Tyki's fault that Road came after them in the first place.

When he looked up from his food he noticed all three of them were discreetly discussing something. "Something wrong?"

They all shushed each other and looked at Allen with fake smiles and nervous laughs.

"Well, you see, Allen, every Christmas," Lavi stuttered and scratched the side of his face.

"The three of us go to Lavi's grandpa's cabin because he's out of the country. And my brother has to work, plus Kanda doesn't," she stopped and cleared her throat.

"The point is that it's usually just us three that go," Kanda snapped as Lenalee tried to delicately approach the subject.

"What? Oh, I already have plans, if that's what you're worried about," Allen said when he suddenly sensed the awkward air._ Do they want to tell me the truth and not hurt my feelings? That's a nice change of pace._

He'd always been excluded before, so this really didn't come as much of a shock to him. It was easier glaze over the subject and move right along rather than drag it out.

"Oh," Lenalee said and sighed in what Allen assumed to be relief.

"Well, I guess that makes that. You wouldn't want to come anyway; we just get plastered and watch a bunch of Christmas specials," Lavi replied and started to reminisce on past Christmas's spent together.

"I didn't know you liked that sort of thing," Allen said lightly towards Kanda.

Twitching, Kanda replied, "Why would I be into that sappy bullshit? I think he meant forced to watch."

"Come on, Yuu, even the Grinch has a heart. Everyone loves Christmas!" Allen couldn't say he loved Christmas, in fact, it was usually a nightmare. He'd been working for Cross on the last three Christmas's and almost forgotten that people actually celebrated the day.

Plus, it was his birthday.

"Don't call me that," he nearly snapped his chopsticks in half, "and don't compare me to the Grinch. Christmas is a pointless and worthless holiday."

"At least we have time off until New Year's Day," Lenalee pointed out in her best attempt to be cheerful.

"Wait," Kanda looked over at Allen suspiciously, "who do you have plans with? Lavi and Lenalee are your only friends."

"I really don't remember it being your business Kanda," Allen said while holding in his irritable mood through clenched fists. He promised Lenalee not to fight with Kanda today, since Kanda wouldn't listen to her pleas for peace.

"Is it a hot date? What does she look like?" Lavi said excitedly.

"The only date Allen could get is a girl from a nursing home," Kanda mumbled.

"I'm sorry, Kanda," Allen politely pushed his hair behind his ear, "what was that? I couldn't quite hear you." Lenalee shot him a pleading look to drop the sarcastic tone but it was far too late for that.

"Have you lost your hearing too? It's bound to happen to geezers like you some day, don't be too hard on yourself," Kanda said while smirking.

"I hope you didn't break a nail coming up with that insult, you prissy-"

"Don't even bother finishing that sentence if you don't want me to sew your lips shut," Kanda growled.

"I had no idea you knew how to sew! Kanda, you're a woman of many talents," Allen said in mock surprise.

"It's Christmas Eve, you guys," Lavi said through a sigh.

"Are you trying to cosplay as Santa by eating all that food? Your hair's got you halfway there!"

"Please don't start this again. You're making a scene," Lenalee said in defeat and looked over at Lavi for help.

"Oh-kay you guys, we're done eating! Come on, let's go get some fresh air before you kill each other," Lavi said and left some money for the tab. Lenalee dragged Kanda unwillingly by the hand, but he still managed to glare at Allen as he was pulled away.

On their way back to campus, the three argued about what to bring and what not to bring to the cabin that night. Allen just tuned them out and admired the sunset; it was setting so early in the short winter days that they were barely out of school before darkness swept over the town. He passed by a shop window that reflected the orange brilliance of the sky and noticed that his shirt was unbuttoned so that he could see Mana's metallic necklace reflected the sunlight much like the glass panes in a patchwork of reds and yellows.

To be honest, he didn't have any plans, but he was good at sensing where he wasn't wanted. Lenalee, Lavi, and Kanda shouldn't be forced to hang around him if they didn't want to be. He could go gambling; people on Christmas were too full of cheer and cheap wine to call someone out for cheating. That was assuming he'd actually get caught, too, which wasn't likely.

He could go visit Mana; this town was only a bus or two away from the quaint graveyard where he was buried. Public transportation wasn't exactly it's safest between the areas, or safe in general, but it was Christmas. Maybe the universe would cut him some slack. Visiting Mana wasn't a new idea he'd come up with; he'd wanted to, of course, ever since his memories started coming back in full force. But what if Mana's ghost was there, or what if it actually wasn't? Both thoughts were equally terrifying and left him stranded in a mental standoff. There one question that burned in his mind, something he knew only Mana's ghost could answer.

But Allen wasn't sure if he was ready for an answer.

"Merry Christmas!" Lenalee called out after him as he walked off to his dorm. He cheerily responded back, but only held up the positive facade until out of sight.

His room was freezing; _couldn't Komui turn on the heat?_ He nudged the door shut behind him and noticed that the empty suitcase he'd left out was still there. Timcampy was nestled into his pillow, shivering just like he was.

"I should really just leave already, shouldn't I, Tim?" He said as he sat down on the bed.

Road's attack on him probably fit Cross's description of life and death; plus, the Noah's knew he had innocence. Leaving was the only plausible solution at this point, and yet he was still unable to even pack a shirt away for a whole week.

_I guess I just got a little stuck here, is all,_ he thought. _I can't stay sentimental and alive at the same time._ As he flipped through his clothes and gingerly placed them in the black case, he knew it wasn't just the place that clung on so tightly to him. He stepped into the bathroom after everything was neatly folded and glanced in the mirror before cleaning up.

"A whole year older, huh?" He muttered while grimacing at his face. Noticing the necklace was still partly showing, he tucked it back in and buttoned his shirt.

"Let's go visit Mana and then to Anita's Warehouse, alright Tim?" He said absent-mindedly.

There was a knock on the door and he put down the bottles he was organizing to go answer it.

"Yes?" He asked politely as he opened up the door with a sweater draped over his shoulder. Miranda was standing in the entrance, trembling more from shyness than the cold.

"Oh, Allen, I'm so glad you're here! I came to say Merry Christmas, and,"

"Thank you, Miranda. Wait, hold on a second," he said and entered the shadows of his room. Coming back out, he held a soft, purple shawl in a neat, glittery bag.

"I got you something downtown today. Merry Christmas," he replied sweetly and held the bag out to her. When he bought it he steeled himself to believe that she wouldn't cry and that it would just be a nice sentiment. But deep down he knew he was lying to himself._ Here come the waterworks, _he thought with a sigh as she started to fall apart.

"But, Allen, I didn't even get you anything! It's so beautiful! Allen!" She continued to cry what he hoped were tears of joy and not sadness, although it was probably a mix of the two, and he just focused on breathing through her tight hug.

"The truth is," she said while wiping her eyes, "I came down here to apologize. While I was filling out your new room forms, I accidentally noticed your date of birth." He winced at her words but tried to not seem bothered.

"You're turning sixteen tonight, aren't you? Even if I'm the only one to say this, Happy Birthday, Allen," she said and the sincerity in her face almost hurt his heart. _She's going to be destroyed when she finds out I left, but I'm endangering her by staying longer._

"Thank you, Miranda. It means a lot," he said thickly, unknowingly little choked up.

"Oh, I'm sorry, you were in the middle of something, weren't you? I'll leave you be, Allen. Merry Christmas!" She said, and twisted the scarf around her neck while smiling. Miranda probably had no one to spend Christmas with, either.

With a heavy sigh, he listlessly pulled at the door handle until the frame snagged on something.

"Birthday?"

Allen pulled harder at the door, pretending like he didn't hear that voice, and that there wasn't a boot wedged between the door and the wall.

"It's your birthday?"

He continued to pull until a hand grabbed his wrist and made him left go.

"If you hate me so much, why are you always hanging around here? Some people would consider this stalking," Allen snapped and turned to face the person at his doorway.

"I'm not stalking. I just wanted to know what plans you made," he replied. Giving up on his attempt to escape, he turned to face the other.

"Kanda, that's called stalking," Allen replied shortly and leaned on the doorway.

"You're a threat to everyone involved, so I should know where you're mysteriously going of to. More importantly, why didn't you tell anyone it was your birthday?" Kanda said, angered by Allen's nonchalant and pessimistic attitude.

"This "threat" is busy at the moment. And it doesn't matter, that's why," Allen answered sharply.

When Kanda didn't reply, Allen rolled his eyes and said, "Don't you have somewhere to be? It's a long drive into the mountains."

Kanda looked like he was in physical pain when he stared at Allen. He finally muttered, "Come with us."

A little taken aback, he lost his angry edge and replied, "Excuse me? I told you, I have plans and I don't want to interrupt your tradition."

"Don't you get it?" Kanda yelled and shoved him, "Lenalee wanted to invite you, but you shot her down. You know what, forget your other plans. You're coming."

_I can't lose face_, he thought._ This might be my best chance to skip town, especially while those three are gone._

"You can't make me go," Allen said and crossed his arms.

Kanda leaned in until his nose was almost touching Allen's and replied, "I'll tell Lenalee it's your birthday. Do you know how hurt she'll be that you didn't tell her? Not only that, I'll tell Lavi too. He's the equivalent of twelve drunk frat boys, and do you know what they do to people on their birthday?"

Kanda could be terrifying when he wanted to be.

They glared at each other in silence for a few moments before Allen backed down and cursed at his bad luck. Like the nail in his coffin, Timcampy burst through the door and rammed him in the small of his back.

"Even your pet wants you to go," Kanda murmured as he caught Allen before he fell over from the force of Timcampy.

"He's not my pet! You can't go, Tim, you'll freeze to death," Allen scolded while accepting his fate._ There wasn't any getting out of this, was there?_

"Look who's talking, bean sprout. You feel like ice," Kanda remarked. Allen realized that Kanda was still holding him up from where Timcampy blindsided him.

"Right, whatever," Allen muttered and pulled away from him quickly.

"I'll tell Lenalee and Lavi to wait for you so you don't get lost on your way to my car. I'll be waiting on you guys in the parking lot," Kanda replied while smirking, obviously pleased that he won this round.

* * *

**Is it Camelot with a "C" or Kamelot with a "K"? I'll stick with C unless that's outrageously off. (FF lists her character as Road C., but I always thought it was with a K).**

**********Last but certainly not least: Why couldn't Allen see Road's soul? What kind of car do you think Kanda will drive?**

**********(Thanks to everyone who reads! Especially you reviewers!)**


	12. Driving Lessons

"Get one scratch on it, and you die," Kanda said flatly.

"Kanda," Lenalee said nervously while looking at her bright phone screen, "my phone says we're supposed to get a couple of feet of snow tonight. Are you sure you want to take your car? Those roads are way too slick already!"

"We can always all try to fit in my jeep!" Lavi said excitedly.

"That deathtrap doesn't even have heat, Lavi, and there's no way in hell were having a repeat of last year," Kanda said gruffly.

"What happened last year?" Allen asked Lenalee quietly while the two fought over whose car was better.

"We thought we'd try to save money on gas and all squeeze in Lavi's car, but Lavi's battery broke the next morning and we were snowed in at the cabin for a whole week. Even for New Year's Day. If you've imagining a little cabin fever, this was so much worse. Imagine being me, stuck with," she looked over in horror at Kanda and Lavi who were pushing and shoving as Lavi tried to take the driver's seat in Kanda's car. "_That_."

Lavi started beeping the horn to the sound of jingle bells and singing along to try to drown out Kanda's yelling from the other side of the locked door.

"For a whole week."

Kanda finally got the door open and pulled Lavi out in a display of what Allen thought was actual murder.

"With nothing to do."

Allen shuddered as he put his bag in the trunk of Kanda's way too expensive sports car. He didn't know much about cars, except how to hot-wire and drive a getaway one, but this was way above what any student could afford. It was black in every respect possible; even the rims had a nice obsidian finish. A little flashy, he thought as he admired the black, shiny coat, but still, it utterly fit Kanda.

"Wait a second, there are only two seats," Allen pointed out when he looked inside.

"What do you expect? It's a corvette, not a damn bitch's BMW," Kanda said nonchalantly.

"Like he said, we aren't having a repeat of last year," Lenalee said sweetly as she climbed into the jeep parked nearby.

Allen finally put everything together and his face soured while looking at Lenalee's overly sweet complexion. He'd been the one tricked into riding in Kanda's car. _You two will die,_ he thought while glaring at Lenalee and Lavi revving up the green jeep with what sounded like evil laughter. They drove off to the end of the parking lot, facing out to the road, and didn't even give Allen a chance to argue.

Eventually accepting his fate, he ducked into the car and daintily shut the door behind him; if he slammed it, Kanda would probably run him over. Without a word, Kanda climbed in and revved the engine a few more times than was really necessary. Allen shot him a dismal look, and he just smirked and did it again for effect.

"You ready to do this, or what?" Lavi hollered from his car. Do_ what, exactly?_

Kanda rolled down his window and drove to the edge of the parking lot so that he was side by side with Lavi's car. "You mean, are you ready to lose for the third year in a row, jackass?"

Lenalee started hollering and cheering, and Allen felt his stomach drop. "A race," Allen said quietly in fear_. I'm dead. I'm actually dead._

"It'd only count as a race if Lavi actually knew how to drive," Kanda snorted back.

Allen started, "Nope, I want out-"

"Are you ready, boys? Three, two, one," Lenalee threw her arm forward and made a gunshot noise, "go!"

Kanda peeled out of the parking lot like Cross out of a liquor store and Allen clung to the seat for dear life.

"He's in a jeep, Jesus, Kanda, he's not going to catch up!" Allen yelled.

"We have to get a head start before we get to the icy mountain roads; his jeep kicks my car's ass with four-wheel drive," Kanda replied. Allen looked as the speedometer was already climbing to one hundred, and then applied that speed to the phrase_ icy mountain roads_.

"Let me out," He said almost immediately and pulled on the door handle.

"Don't be a baby," Kanda replied and stepped on the gas once again, if only to make Allen mad this time.

The empty streets practically shook in fear as Kanda drove unreasonably fast, tires screeching around every turn. Apparently red lights didn't matter to him, and he hadn't stopped once on their entire roller coaster ride. Allen noticed he was shifting gears every so often; _so it's a manual_, he noticed with curiosity.

"Finally," Kanda muttered as a bridge loomed ahead of them. Squinting ahead, Allen noticed they were swiftly leaving the outskirts of the city and heading toward a heavily pine tree encrusted path. The roads here were less trimmed and the wooded territory soon enveloped their car. Within a few moments, the road was more gravel than pavement.

Snow was beginning to fall, first quietly and slowly, and then picking up into a heavy rain of puffy flakes. The trees were beginning to turn white against the deep green, and Kanda turned on his fog lights and windshield wipers while cursing. Looking behind them, Allen noticed Lavi's headlights were cutting through the darkness a couple hundred feet back.

"We make a bet every year," Kanda muttered and started to speed up, "that whoever loses to the other has to go streaking in the middle of the night."

"Isn't Lenalee mortified every year then?" Allen asked while fearing for her purity.

"Don't be an idiot, it's just between me and Lavi! She just tweets about us while laughing. I think she actually got a picture of Lavi once," Kanda said while smirking.

"It's going to be you this year if you don't speed up," Allen said while looking over his shoulder.

"And you," Kanda said while coughing. Allen looked over at him in pure anger and he just kept his eyes on the road with an irritating sneer on his face.

"Hey! You can't just go putting me in idiotic bets, asshole!" Allen yelled and punched him.

"Don't touch me," Kanda said and shoved him back, "and it's way too late to back out now."

He shifted down gears as they came up to a curve that would start their winding battle up the mountain. The roads were cut right into the side of the hill, slowly going up at a steep but manageable incline. As they rounded the curve at a particularly safe angle, Allen felt relieved that Kanda wasn't going to recklessly sweep around at one hundred miles per hour. They hit a patch of black ice and he pumped the brakes a little until the car was stabilized and Allen's heart raced a little when he realized that Kanda was actually being safe. He was going to be just fine.

Around the curve, they kept in the right lane and went around particularly slowly. Almost as if on cue, Lavi's jeep cut in the left lane and sped around the curve, passing them while beeping and hollering. Lenalee was hollering right along with him and yelled, "Catch you later, losers!"

"Oh, hell no!" Kanda yelled and mashed the accelerator while shifting gears.

"You're going too, fast, idiot," Allen yelled as Kanda sped up on the small straight patch of road ahead of them. Lavi was ahead by a good margin after he'd passed them on the last curve, and Kanda obviously was too mad to have any good driving sense.

_The road conditions are getting worse and worse with every second_, Allen thought while grimacing. A thin blanket of snow covered the road now, concealing any ice beneath. Which meant they might as well have been blind.

He slammed the gas until they were running side by side with Lavi, clutching the steering wheel with white knuckles.

"Wait, Yuu, your car can't handle that sharp a turn at that speed! We can both slow down and restart around the curve!" Lavi yelled from his window, but Kanda paid no mind.

"Don't go overboard," Lenalee said a little frantically, but her voice was caught up in the wind as they sped past even quicker.

Suddenly the curve was in front of them, a lot quicker than they'd both anticipated since the road took an unexpected dip. "Shit," Kanda hissed as the car began sliding on a thick patch of ice.

"Start cutting it harder, now!" Allen said frantically as Kanda was barely turning the wheel.

"We're going to spin out if I do that, idiot!" He yelled back. Allen noticed through the fog of snow that there was no railing to catch them, and it was a pretty stiff drop from where they'd be spinning out.

"Flip the wheel the other way once you start losing control and it won't spin out," Allen said as his heart started beating against his ribs.

"Go the opposite way? You don't know anything!" Kanda shouted through gritted teeth.

Allen felt his insides crawl as they weren't turning, and were heading on a one-hundred-and-twenty-mile an hour straight line just before the cliff.

"Damn it," Allen said and reached over for the clutch. Switching it into neutral, the car began to slide and Kanda yelled out in surprise.

"You're actually trying to get us killed!"

Ignoring him, he reached over to the wheel and jerked it left, sending them drifting around the curve. The wheels couldn't madly spin out if they were locked up. He noticed that the end of the car was slightly off the cliff, with the back wheels barely still on the road. Kanda was yelling, screaming curses at him more like, but Allen held the wheel steady until he felt the wheels wavering._ If I try to shift, I'm only going to make it worse. The only thing I can do now is pray that the car and Kanda won't kill me._

As they continued to glide around the bend in a reckless and uncontrollable drift, Allen could definitely feel the back wheels wavering. Anticipating this, he straightened out the wheel and alternated between turning the wheel right, and then slightly left as the direction of the car changed, and then continued the pattern around the curve.

"Hit the gas," Allen commanded he put one hand back on the clutch and held the wheel steady with the other.

"You're telling me to go faster," Kanda said, dumbfounded at his logic.

"So help me God, if you do not floor it right now, I will personally kill you before this car will," Allen snapped. Without another word, the second he heard the car flare up, he switched up gears and held the wheel steady with one hand until they continued to drift around the end of the bend. With a ferocious roar, the car sped up and tore down the next stretch of road, stabilizing as they returned to gravel and not ice. There was another straight patch of road, and the car straightened up as Allen switched gears again.

As the car slowly readjusted from its rapid descent into hell, he and Kanda exchanged glance of mutual relief.

"Switch seats with me. You can't drive manual worth shit, and if I don't drive we are going to go off a cliff," Allen said while grinning.

"You're too short to even reach the gas pedal."

"While I appreciate your sense of humor," Allen said while nearly popping a blood vessel, "now is not the time for short jokes. These roads are way too slick and dangerous at this point, and if we stop the car were going to slip right back down this hill and off a cliff."

"I'm being serious. Your legs aren't long enough." Allen realized he wasn't kidding and felt whatever self-esteem he had crumble into dust. Along with his self-esteem, his survival rate had just dropped suspiciously low, too.

"Well it's too damn hard to steer while leaning over the armrest," Allen said roughly as he noticed another curve coming up. He sat up on the armrest and tried it from that position, but now he was too high to see correctly, and visibility was already too low in the flurries of snow.

Allen couldn't believe he was saying it, but the words still came out of his mouth anyway. Desperate times call for desperate measures. "Spread your legs so that I can fit in between and we'll drive it tandem. You can hit the pedals while I steer."

Kanda was looking at him in pure disgust and finally said, "No fucking way."

"All we have to do is survive, and then never speak of it again," Allen breathed out, trying to swallow his own pride at the same time.

"I'd rather die, beansprout, so find a way to drive like that," Kanda said shortly and punched Allen a little too roughly. He fell forward a bit due to the lack of seatbelt, and one of the wheels ran up against some of the piled up snow on the side of the road. The car start jerking as it lost traction on the snow and Allen lost control of the wheel, smacking his head on the dashboard and jamming the wrist he tried to use to stop himself. Kanda grabbed the wheel as Allen tried to regain his bearings. He couldn't tell if the car was spinning or if it was just his head.

Allen pulled his hand away from his forehead and hissed; he was bleeding, but he put it aside when he noticed that Kanda was struggling to keep the car straight.

"Don't hit the driver! And drive straight, damn it, didn't you just see how I was doing it?" Allen yelled and took the wheel back, trying to not hurt his wrist any more than he'd already sprained it. He cursed when he hit a bump and had to make a sharp twist of the wheel; the way he leaned gave him no leverage.

"Shit," Kanda said when he noticed Allen was having trouble holding the wheel steady, "can't you just sit on my lap or something?"

"It'll restrict your movement too much and you won't be able to pump the brakes correctly," Allen cursed mid sentence when he noticed the curve was right ahead, "and we really don't have time to come up with anything else." _Kanda's acting like I gave this no thought. I've already come up with every other solution possible,_ he thought while fighting the urge to kick him out of the car.

Kanda sighed and muttered out a couple different expletives, some in Japanese, before opening his legs so that Allen could have a spot to sit. Allen carefully held the wheel steady and slid from his perch on the armrest. He really needed to stop wearing such tight jeans; it was too hard to move in these damn things.

Brushing Kanda's thigh, he pulled himself over in one swift movement. There really wasn't enough space, since cars weren't exactly made for this, but_ there really wasn't enough space. _Kanda was straddling him way too tightly, and made a slight noise of disgust as Allen positioned himself so that he could see properly._ Don't think about it, don't think about it, and don't think about it_, Allen replayed as he focused on the road.

"Don't get so damn comfortable," Kanda muttered in embarrassment.

"Like I said," Allen winced a little as Kanda sat as far back in the seat as possible, "this never happened. Don't sit like that, either; you can't hit the pedals effectively."

Kanda sighed and barely moved. Allen's knuckles were clenched and his nails dug into the steering wheel through his gloves. He sharply responded, "Please swallow your pride, just this once. You're going to have to get in tighter if you want to do this right and be able to see. Just think of it like riding a motorcycle or something; do whatever you need to do so that you'll quit your bitching."

Begrudgingly, Kanda leaned in and straddled him tighter until Allen's knees were pressing together. He weaved his arms underneath Allen's and put his hands on the wheel to help keep it steady; Allen was pulling the whole weight of the car every time he drifted around the curves and it wasn't easy. "Happy?"

"Not in the slightest. Now, step on the gas," Allen said.

"Are you crazy? The car is already sliding on this ice; we're going to be fishtailing in seconds," Kanda argued back.

"I'll turn the wheel the opposite way the car is swaying, and we can use the momentum to pull us around the curve. Do it now, Kanda," Allen commanded.

"You are fucking insane," Kanda mumbled, but did as he was told. Just like Kanda predicted, the car started to go out of control, and the tail end swayed back and forth. Allen reverted to pulling the wheel back and forth in the opposite direction that the back-end was swaying to help them from doing three-sixties.

They were midway through the curve, and Allen realized he wasn't going to be able to turn sharply enough to make it around without them skidding off.

"Floor it until we're too out of control, and then pump the brakes," Allen said, flipping the clutch into neutral and even pulling the emergency brake as they started sliding so they had as much resistance as possible. Not even arguing with his crazy suggestion, Kanda hit the gas and then the brakes, and Allen cut the wheel sharply to the left. They swung around the curve and Allen swiftly pulled the break down while shift up gears, sending them slingshotting around the bend.

They both let out a sigh of relief, and Allen slightly twisted the wheel to follow the winding road.

Bright headlights lit up the side of the hill in front of them, and sure enough, Lavi was off-roading his way up the bends until he was back on the road, _ahead of them._

"That's cheating!" Allen protested as they slowly sped up. "Shit, are these windows tinted?"

"Yeah, why?" Kanda said, and then realized why he asked. Lavi and Lenalee seeing them now would not end well. There was a minute or two of complete and total silence in the car, and Allen couldn't pick out if the awkwardness of the situation or the tension was what convinced him not to speak.

"We're totally going to lose," Kanda said eventually, as Lavi's jeep stayed a couple hundred feet ahead of them.

"No, we're just going to have to cut him off at this curve. And Kanda," he smirked while leaning over the wheel, "I never lose a bet."

Following their usual pattern, they easily swept by Lavi and the boost from the drift shot them way ahead.

"Hell yeah!" Kanda yelled enthusiastically. This near death driving was giving Allen the same adrenaline rush and he was grinning like an idiot, too, as they whipped around the curves with ease.

"Wait, where exactly is this place?" Allen asked while looking over his shoulder at Kanda. For a split second, Allen was sure he saw Kanda smiling, but the second he noticed Allen glancing at him, his face returned to its permanent scowl.

"Uh, it's a straight drop down the driveway once we're at the top of this godforsaken mountain," Kanda replied.

"Kanda," Allen said quietly, "we are at the top." There was a moment of silence as they sent out their last prayers to the mortal world.

"Start hitting the breaks already!" Allen yelled frantically as he started shifting down to the lowest gear. Snapping out of his daze, Kanda used his heel to intermittently pull at the breaks, sending them in a choppy, uncontrollable dip downwards.

"We're too close to the bottom. I'm going to have to stop this thing now," Allen shouted.

"Stop it? Even you can't pull that off!"

He noticed a firm snow bank ahead, and calmed himself down so that he could focus. "Trust me," Allen said, hoping to reassure himself more than anyone else.

Unexpectedly, Kanda tightly wrapped his arms around Allen, presumably to keep him from snapping his neck on the harsh impact he expected. "Just don't get any more blood on my car."

"Don't be so worried," Allen said nervously, and then jerked the wheel as hard as he could to the left. The car immediately spun, and Allen used the momentum of him falling forward in the seat to reach the brake with his foot. He slammed down as hard as he could and abandoned the wheel, using one hand to pull the emergency brake and the other to pull the key right out of the ignition. They came to a screeching halt, facing the exact opposite way they'd been before. Allen quickly turned the car back on and put it in park before they could go rolling off, although the snow bank he strategically stopped in front of prevented an immediate slide.

Allen didn't realize he was holding his breath, but immediately gasped for air as the car went silent. Kanda was out of breath too, and let go of Allen while leaning back in the seat in relief. He rolled down the window since it was so stuffy in the car, and Allen felt the frigid night breeze calm his nerves.

"We're alive," Kanda finally said in disbelief.

"And we totally kicked Lavi's ass!" Allen cheered.

"Is that all you cared about?"

"Mostly. Not dying was a bonus."

Lavi's headlights eventually illuminated the path and he stopped much more gracefully next to Kanda's car._ Damn his four-wheel drive._

He hopped out almost immediately and came over to knock on their window while yelling, "You guys that was badass! Yuu, you were pulling some serious need for speed, fast and furious, nascar worthy-"

Lavi's mouth fell open slightly as he saw the pair in the lewd position, with Kanda's legs wrapped around Allen and him squeezed between, not an inch of room separating them. The jostle from the abrupt parking disjointed whatever dignified position they'd mastered beforehand, but this was just downright scandalous.

Kanda couldn't hide his mortified expression, but Allen just grinned while still gripping the wheel tightly and chirped, "Hi, Lavi! Long time no-"

"Lenaleeeee!" Lavi yelled while falling onto his knees in laughter. Kanda kicked the door open and forcefully kicked Allen out in the same manner, leaving him groaning down on the ice.

"Why," Lavi said while wiping a tear from his fit of laughter, "just, man, why?"

"Kanda can't drive worth shit, and I wasn't about to die in a car wreck," Allen said as he tried to pick himself back up.

"I drive just fine in normal conditions," Kanda replied sharply and punched him so hard he slipped on the ice again.

"Shit," He mumbled and helped the disoriented Allen back up, who was a little wobbly from the impact. "Didn't mean to deck you."

"Hmmm?" Lavi let out a noise of curiosity as he began to pull things out of his trunk and watched the other two bicker over different driving techniques. Eventually they both started laughing, maybe when the realized what had just happened, and Lavi smiled. Kanda usually never had a personality, much less smiled, but recently he'd been all over the map. It was nice to see a shred of him left from back when they were kids, although Kanda usually chastised him for being too childish in the first place.

"Hurry up and follow me inside, okay, Yuu? It's freezing out here!" Lavi said brightly as he sifted through his trunk.

"Don't call me that! So much for it didn't happen," Kanda grumbled as he popped open his own trunk.

"Let's just not look at Lavi or Lenalee's twitter for the night, shall we?" Allen suggested as he pulled his own stuff out of the trunk. They met back up with Lavi, and Allen looked around for a house, but didn't see one. Lavi led them down the side of the cliff along a small dirt and ice path that winded down.

"Gramps built the cabin beneath this cliff so all the snow wouldn't cave in the roof in one of these storms," Lavi said as he led the three down the path while swinging around a key chain.

Allen admired the hidden house when they got to the bottom; it wasn't too flashy, but was designed extremely well. It was two stories, with the bottom having large windows so that he could take in the mountain view from indoors, and a balcony on the second floor with rustic doors that led out to it. The exterior was reminiscent of a log cabin, with large panels of polished pine wood building up the walls of the cabin. There was a large chimney that stuck out from the arched roof, and Lavi went over to the side of the house to grab some firewood.

He threw the keys over to Lenalee, who was shivering in her skirt and tights, and she went to unlock the door. She fumbled with the frozen lock, but the door eventually opened and she rushed inside.

"Hurry up with that wood, Lavi, it's freezing in here!" Lenalee called out. There breath was visible even inside, and Lenalee flipped on the lights so that she could find the thermostat as quick as possible.

Allen took a look around; there were stairs directly ahead of him, a living room over to the left, and a kitchen over to the right. The design was pretty modern, despite what he expected, and the kitchen was all stainless steel appliances and black granite counters. The living room had nice leather couches with a large flat screen perched on a glass stand. A fireplace centered the room, grand and surrounded by intricate river stones.

Kanda put his stuff down on the coffee table and sat down on the couch, sighing in relief at the fact they were finally here.

"Aha!" Lenalee said from somewhere in the kitchen.

Lavi came barging in, and dropped his bag on the floor before carrying the bundle of firewood over. As he started to get the fire going, Allen walked upstairs and noticed it was just one giant room with a large bathroom off to the left. There were two plush beds, and then the double doors that led off to the balcony he saw earlier.

"Allen, come help me!" Lavi called out to him from the bottom floor and Allen put his stuff down.

"Back there," Kanda mumbled while pointing to the back of the living room._ Do I really look that lost?_

As Allen walked back, he realized that the house was a lot bigger than he'd originally believed. A hall took him down to another bedroom, bathroom, laundry room, and a giant bonus room. There's a whole other side to the house he didn't even know existed.

The game room had a giant billiard table, a dartboard, another giant TV, and a poker table with chips already stacked up. "Allen!"

He stepped out of the room and headed over to the bedroom that had a grand window and two beds, too.

"We usually give this room to Lenalee so she has her privacy. Can you help me get this extra bed upstairs?"

"Of course," Allen said and picked up one end of the wooden frame and Lavi picked up the other, heaving it up with ease.

"Whoa, you're pretty strong for being that small," Lavi said when Allen ended up being the one carrying most of the weight.

"I'm not small, I'm a perfectly decent height," Allen said while wincing.

"Couldn't reach the gas pedal," Lavi sang as they made their way through the living room.

"Shut up," Kanda and Allen muttered in unison.

"I wish I could've seen it," Lenalee said wistfully while sighing in true disappointment.

Kanda snorted and Allen nearly dropped the bed when Lavi and Lenalee broke off into sidesplitting laughter.

"Still, Allen," Lavi said while they climbed up the stairs, "where the hell did you learn to drive like that?"

"I just went on instinct, I guess. I've played Need for Speed a couple times, too," Allen replied nonchalantly. He'd really never driven anything in extreme conditions, but it all made sense in his head.

"Instinct, eh?"

Lavi stretched out his back when the put down the bed, and then excitedly ran back down the stairs while yelling something about hot chocolate. Allen followed him back down, and noticed that Lenalee was lying partially upside down in a soft chair while flipping through channels. Every single one she stopped on received a loud protest from Kanda, and Allen decided to follow Lavi into the kitchen.

"Now," Lavi said as he started boiling some water, "here's where the fun begins!"

"What do you mean?" Allen asked as he brought out four cups. He looked for something in a low cabinet and cheered when he found it. Allen sighed when he saw the different alcoholic bottles he was pulling out.

"I should've expected as much from you." After growing up with it for years, Allen could honestly say he hated the way it smelled and the way people acted when drunk. However, he wasn't about to ruin the fun and needed to get over his uneasy dislike of alcohol if he expected to make it out of his twenties.

"If you think this is something," Lavi said sensually as he shut the cabinet, "just wait until tomorrow night."

Allen tried to push away his fears of Christmas and asked, "What are you doing right now, exactly?"

"Russian roulette, except with hot chocolate," he said while winking.

He took the first mug and started liberally pouring in what smelled like pure peppermint and cough syrup. Allen waited for him to stop pouring, but he only tapped it off when the mug was half full.

"Lavi!" Allen gasped; that drink alone was enough to send someone stumbling off the cliff.

He poured in thick hot chocolate to mix in, and then topped it off with whipped cream. Humming, he set the hot drink aside and moved on to the next cup. This time, he went easy on a cinnamon liqueur, added rum, and then a creamy, white hot chocolate for most the mix.

"Lenalee always gets the cinnamon; I'm not completely evil. Can you go take it to her?" Lavi asked as he moved on to the next one. Allen graciously picked up the mug and brought it over to Lenalee.

"Did Lavi make this?" She asked warily while sniffing it. It smelled heavenly, but that was what usually destroyed her sobriety.

"Yeah, but I watched him, so it's not deadly," Allen said. She laughed and thanked him, taking a sip and smiling as the hot liquid warmed her right up.

When Allen came back into the kitchen, he realized that Lavi had already made two more and was grinning madly. "You tricked me," Allen said in disbelief.

"Pick one!" Lavi said brightly and gestured at the three cups.

"I'm not touching anything that smells like peppermint," Allen muttered as he eyed the three cups.

"The peppermint is always the middle value, Allen. So if you don't pick that one, you'll either get much less, or much more. It's safer to go with peppermint, in my opinion," Lavi said while rubbing his chin.

Allen pulled his hair back and sniffed the first one; it hinted at coconut and dark chocolate with the sharp scent of alcohol mixing the two. The middle one was obviously the peppermint, since it had the whipped cream on top. The last one smelled like Irish cream and marshmallows, making Allen's mouth water a little.

He instinctively picked that one; it smelled a lot smoother than the other ones, making it the one with the least amount of alcohol in it. Lavi picked the coconut and handed the peppermint to Allen.

"Give it to Kanda, he'll trust you more," Lavi whispered and they both grinned as they headed into the living room.

"Here you go, Kanda!" Allen said and held out the cup. Kanda glowered at him and then took the drink, warily looking back and forth between Allen and the cup.

"Don't be a baby, Kanda. He barely put more than he put in Lenalee's because he knew you'd get mad," Allen said and casually sat down on the couch while taking a sip of his own. Kanda snatched the mug and started sipping on it, not even phased by the amount of alcohol in it.

"My homemade hot chocolate could mask rat poison," Lavi whispered in Allen's ear as they both watched Kanda drink it as if it were water.

Lenalee threw the remote over to Allen and said, "Try to pick something that Kanda won't turn down, Allen, because I'm sick of arguing with him."

"Uhm," Allen faltered a little, "I've never actually seen a Christmas movie."

They all swiveled around to stare at him in disbelief. Even Kanda nearly spat out his drink.

"Kanda's seen a couple of movies, even though he hates them!" Lavi said and grabbed the remote. "You had no childhood, did you?!"

"Not really," Allen said while scratching the back of his head.

"Well it's obviously time to fix that, now isn't it?" Lavi clicked his tongue as he flipped through the channels and then stopped abruptly. "Look! It's how Kanda stole Christmas!"

Lavi nearly fell off the couch with a swift elbow to his gut and Kanda said, "We are not watching this campy bullshit."

"Shhhh," Lavi said and was instantly enveloped into the movie. Lenalee put her empty mug down and joined them on the couch, squeezing between Lavi and Allen.

"It's okay to cry, Allen. We're all friends here," Lenalee whispered, and Lavi nodded in complete agreement. One of them quickly got up to flip the lights off, and Lavi put more wood on the fire before settling in on the couch.

Much to Allen's dismay, his mug was empty. He set it next to Lenalee and Kanda's on the table in front of them and Lenalee looked curiously at it for a moment. "Which one did you pick, exactly?"

"The one that had Irish cream in it, I believe," Allen said nonchalantly. Lenalee swung her head to look over at Lavi, who put a finger over his lips.

* * *

"Would you two quit it already?" Kanda yelled over the pair sitting on the floor singing and laughing.

"I'm teaching him the true meaning of Christmas! Can you believe someone doesn't know the words to a single Christmas song?" Lavi said and started running through the lines again with Allen.

"I'm sick of hearing you two sing like idiots! Lavi, your voice sounds like nails on a chalkboard!"

"Nails on a chalkboard sounds like a retro metal band," Lenalee said absent-mindedly as she continued to watch the movie everyone else abandoned.

"So if Lavi sings like a retro metal band, then what do I sing like?" Allen said while grinning.

"Like pretty piano music," Lenalee said and then started humming the Little Drummer Boy.

"No matter how many songs you teach me though," Allen stopped and suddenly looked serious, "you'll never convince me that Christmas movies aren't lame."

"Take it back!" Lenalee and Lavi yelled at the same time, and Lavi tackled him. They started wrestling, with Lenalee cheering on Lavi from one end and Kanda trying to pretend like he didn't know the three.

"Kick his ass!" Lenalee shouted, but Lavi ended up getting pinned down by Allen.

"Admit it! Christmas movies are shit!" Allen yelled while wrestling with Lavi.

"You just don't appreciate them right!" Lavi yelled back playfully and pinned him down. "Aren't I right, Lenalee?"

Allen and Lavi lost track of time somewhere within their wrestling war, and looked over at the couch. Lenalee was crying into an extremely disturbed Kanda. She started wailing, "All the other reindeer accepted him, Kanda! They accept him even for his nose! He has friends that love him now!"

They looked back at the screen and realized the movie ended, leaving a catastrophically emotional Lenalee behind. She grasped tightly on to Kanda while sobbing and crying about the cute little reindeer. Ignoring the unfixable situation on the couch, Allen pushed Lavi off of him and put him into a headlock and said, "You can only appreciate them if you're five!"

"They're pretty terrible. No, they're probably the worst," Kanda added as he hesitantly patted Lenalee's back.

"You two just have no souls!" Lavi cried out as Allen let go of him and stood up, being the clear winner.

Allen winced at the seemly harmless words and tried to keep his cheerful demeanor. Ever since he'd seen Road without a soul, he'd started to people watch out of his left eye whenever he had the spare time. Everyone had some sort of soul attached to them, and as he kept using his eyes he was starting to pick up different colored auras on them. However, he only had one problem; he'd never been able to see a soul staring back at him in the mirror.

"Alright, whatever, enjoy your lame movies. I'm going to sleep. You are all giving me a headache," Kanda grumbled as Lenalee and Lavi were yelling at him about the true Christmas spirit.

With a yawn, Lavi said, "I'm pretty beat, too. And I need lots of sleep for how early we're getting up tomorrow!"

Kanda was halfway up the stairs before he peered back down and surly repeated, "We?"

"Point taken," Lavi remarked.

"Goodnight, Lenalee," Allen said as she headed over to her room in the back. She waved and disappeared into the dark room.

Just as he put his foot on the first stair, a buzzing noise went off in the living room. He headed back over and realized he left his phone; but who would be calling him this late? It was probably just a wrong number, however, the area code was from around town so he picked up the phone anyway. I can't believe I have service in this storm.

"Hey, babe." Allen could feel his face turning to a very ugly mask of annoyance and looked at the ID again.

"How'd you get this number?" Allen sighed heavily and sat down on the couch. _I should just hang up._

"Fate sure does work in mysterious ways," the voice said, and then trailed off.

"You sound drunk," Allen replied flatly.

"So do you, my dear Allen." Point taken.

Allen considered hanging up once again but curiosity took over. "Why'd you call, Tyki?"

"It's um, important," he stopped and Allen heard some mumbling on the other line. Tyki was having a quiet argument with someone else, a voice he couldn't recognize.

"Lulubell! Tyki has the phone again!" That was definitely Devit's voice, and Allen mentally yelled at himself for not hanging up. Whatever civil argument began between the two picked up into a full-fledged war, with an annoyed Tyki on one end and a fierce Devit on the other. Allen heard the sound of a gun clicking, and the yelling stopped. Finally Devit got a hold of the phone and said, "H-hey Allen! Sorry to be bothering you on Christmas and all."

"You tried to kill me. All of you. So why are you dropping a line tonight?" Allen said through gritted teeth. From far away, he heard Tyki chime in_, "I didn't try to."_

"Dropping a line? Whatever, the point is you aren't dead and-" Tyki's voice cut him off from afar.

_"We're all so glad you aren't dead! Road nearly got a spanking for killing you!"_

"Tyki! Shut up! I'm trying to do business here!"

"Business," Allen murmured as he listened to more fighting. There was a loud crash on the other side of the line, followed by a lot of cursing. Suddenly he could hear Road's shrill voice.

"You're going to scare Santa away if you don't shut up! Wait, who's on the phone? We never make phone calls." Devit informed her that it was Allen, and he heard a loud cry of joy.

"Allen! Can he hear me? Devit, hand me the phone!" Road said and Allen sighed while listening to more fighting.

"Listen, Allen," Devit started, and then yelled a chain of expletives at Tyki, "I think I'm going to have to call you back."

"Don't bother."

"No need to be so cold," Devit said nervously. Road's voice cut off whatever he was about to say. "Aha!"

There was a lot more arguing, and it sounded like something expensive smashed on the floor. Allen heard the ringing of gunshots and more yelling; apparently no one had the phone at the moment.

"Idiots," he heard an unfamiliar voice mumble from the other end, "Expect a call sometime tomorrow. Pick up the phone, or we'll come to you."

With that, the unfamiliar person started yelling and chastising the others and hung up.

Allen got up from the couch with a new headache; he headed up the stairs. When he reached the top, it was almost as if nothing changed.

Kanda and Lavi were bickering over a bed, and Allen just put his stuff on undisputed territory and went into the bathroom to wash his face. The chilly water woke him up a little, and he faced the mirror again. He looked tipsy, but aside from that, perfectly normal. He sighed, closed his eyes, and reopened the left one.

It'd be easy to pass this off at the idea that it didn't work in mirrors, but every time he'd done this, there _was_ something. It was shadowy and didn't look like a soul, but it clung to his left eye. Suddenly there was a soul registering in the room, surrounded by a cheery, yellow aura. Allen jumped and shut his left eye.

"Shit, man, I didn't mean to scare you," Lavi said as he started brushing his teeth. Just Lavi. _That proves my theory that it doesn't work in mirrors wrong, then._

Allen walked out and sat down on his bed, lost in thought. His arm was throbbing for no apparent reason, but then he remembered he hadn't taken any medicine today. Plus, his other wrist was sprained from his encounter with Kanda's dashboard.

Gripping his hand as it started burning and cramping, he almost went to grab all his meds, but he stopped himself when he realized Kanda was in the room. He looked over and noticed that Kanda was staring at him, seemingly lost in thought too. Allen raised an eyebrow and he suddenly snapped out of it, standing up to go use the bathroom as Lavi came out.

The glint of the sword hidden behind the nightstand caught his eye and he looked curiously over at the katana. Lavi flipped the light switch and then noticed the sword too, mumbling, "Why does he bring that stupid thing along everywhere?"

_This was really starting to hurt_, he thought miserably while pretending to lift up the covers as if he was going to sleep. Kanda eventually came out of the bathroom, and Lavi was slightly snoring into his pillow already.

Waiting a good twenty minutes in agony, Allen finally assumed the coast was clear when Lavi was snoring loudly and Kanda's breathing was a lot heavier. Everything was organized in his bag, so he knew exactly where to look for what and grabbed a necessary handful of pills without the slightest of rattling. There was no way he could dry swallow these, especially based on past choking experiences, and decided he would have to go get some water.

Using all the stealth skills he'd used to get around Cross for the past ten years, he silently made his way down the stairs to get some water. These skills were somewhat, diluted, however, by the sheer amount of alcohol he'd taken in, and he nearly somersaulted down the stairs on more than once.

Cursing under his breath, he almost dropped a glass he pulled out from the cabinet, due to his poor lack of balance on his tiptoes.

He lightly turned on the faucet, using the moonlight from the window over the sink to guide him. It took him a few seconds to realize no water was actually getting in the cup, and he moved his hand. Satisfied with his mission, he turned off the water and washed the pills down. When he turned around to leave, he dropped the cup out of shock when he met a towering figure.

"Bloody hell! You can't be doing that to people," Allen whispered fiercely as he tried to catch his breath.

"Bloody hell?" Kanda repeated, trying to mimic his accent. He caught the cup before it smashed on the ground.

"Shoot, no, I mean, shit. Don't sneak up on people! I thought you were asleep," Allen replied frantically while trying to mask his accent.

Kanda stood there for a few minutes before he was able to pose the question with a straight face. "Why do you talk and sound like a Brit?"

"I lived there for a couple years before I came here, no big deal. I bunked out of London when I was little and grew up around here, but when that fell out Cross and I went back to London for a bit, and now I'm back at where I started." Allen knew his inconsistent rambling was only making it worse and glowered at the grin creeping up on Kanda's face.

"Don't look at me like that you damn tosser." Allen winced when he realized his accent was still heavy and cleared his throat.

"You've been hiding that accent this whole time," Kanda said in disbelief, desperately trying to hold in his laughter. Allen glared back at him and snatched the cup from his grasp._ This alcohol really has me off my guard._

"Now that I think about it, you really do sound British when you get mad. Always saying arse instead of ass," Kanda pondered.

"Whatever, you won't be able to convince Lavi or Lenalee its true," Allen said, regaining whatever American accent he could gather. "Why are you bothering me, anyway? It's two in the morning."

Kanda seemed a little stuck for a moment as he tried to come up with a reason, and Allen grew increasingly more angry as he realized that he didn't have one.

"So you decided to follow me, is that it? It's not like I snuck off to go make a deal with the devil; I just wanted some water! Stay out of my business," he replied and tried to end the conversation there, but Kanda stopped him from passing.

"Why are you still wearing gloves?" Allen sighed and leaned up against the sink while keeping his gloved hands as far behind him as he could without looking suspicious.

"My hands are still scarred from Road's attack and I didn't want to freak Lavi out." Allen wasn't liking where this was headed; the scars had actually healed at this point, and it really was just his usual pain. But that Kanda was stressing over both of his hands was a good thing; that meant he wasn't keen on the left one.

"Those should've healed up a couple of days ago," Kanda said while glaring suspiciously.

"Well, they didn't," Allen replied dumbly. He had to find a way out of this quickly, and he really needed to work on his intoxicated lying skills.

"Let me see how bad it is," Kanda said and reached for one of his hands._ Or maybe he did know about his hand, and his innocence, and his best way to look innocent was to corner me when I'm drunk._

Allen narrowed his eyes and said, "Piss off, you twit. I'm too drunk to deal with you. You're just curious about why I wear gloves. And my answer is that it's none of your damn business."

"Got an excuse for why you wear them all the time? There's never been a second I've seen you with them off, even when I slept over at your place," Kanda said and got close to his face while glaring.

"I've got poor blood circulation and my hands get cold easy," Allen replied smartly.

"Take them off," Kanda growled and pushed him.

"Piss off," Allen said angrily and tried to force his way past.

Kanda grabbed his arm and yanked him backward until his back ran into a counter and his head hit a cabinet. Before he could start yelling, something stopped him.

"Excuse me, Allen said in a bittersweet tone as his phone started ringing, "I think I have to take this."

Kanda didn't stop him as he went out of earshot, and Allen had no intention of picking up the phone as he stepped out the front door and sat on the porch. It was freezing outside, no; it was much colder than freezing. He looked at the phone as it rang again. Oh, what the hell.

He answered the phone, and it almost sounded like a second hadn't passed by since the phone call ended. "What?" Allen asked, his headache returning in full force.

"Don't sound so angry, Allen. It doesn't suit you," Tyki said sweetly._ I really hate this guy._

"I'm hanging up," Allen said when he realized that answering the phone was a bad idea.

"Fine, fine, be that way. All I wanted to say was happy birthday," Tyki said, and Allen could almost see that smirk he always had through the phone.

"It's not-" he pulled the phone away from his ear, noticing that it was two in the morning. Technically that counted.

"How'd you know," Allen muttered.

"A man's intuition is never wrong." Suddenly the pandemonium on the other end of the line stopped, and he heard a chorus of voices saying, "Happy birthday, Allen!"

_A bunch of murderers are wishing me happy birthday._ "Ah, thanks, I guess," Allen said while blushing, a little charmed by their excitement.

"Okay, my turn to talk to Allen!" _"Someone stop her!"_

"Road, it's way past your bedtime. No phone calls for you."_ Bad move, Devit,_ Allen thought when he remembered Road's temperament.

There was a silence, followed by a low growl from Road's throat.

"What did you just say to me?" The phone line cut almost immediately after, and Allen couldn't even try to imagine what happened.

"You are all so strange," Allen murmured as he stared at the silent phone. He walked back over to the door and tried the handle.

"That bastard didn't," Allen muttered as he tried the handle again. Suddenly he looked back down at his phone. Incoming Call from Kanda.

"You can't be serious," was the first thing Allen said as he picked up the phone.

"Take off your gloves, and I'll open the door," Kanda said. Allen noticed him glaring from the window, and tried not to visibly shiver so much.

"No chance in hell," Allen replied fiercely, and sat back down.

"Fine, freeze to death," Kanda replied nonchalantly. It was seriously cold; he wouldn't last more than another hour out here.

Instead of focusing on the cold, Allen looked out at the incredible view the house had. Just off the cliff they were perched on, a mountain range cut through the snowy pine forest. The peaks were capped off with craggy peaks of waxy grey and silvery white snow, reflecting the moonlight. Since the house was in the middle of nowhere with no lights or other houses for miles, the night was full of untainted stars and silky waves of indigo.

The moon was so full and vibrant, almost close enough for him to reach out and touch. Its hollowed out craters were sharply etched into the surface, and the brightness of the moon fought against the dark sky.

_I could probably sit here and watch the sky all night and not get bored_, he thought as a wave of numbness and dizziness hit him._ Maybe with a blanket._

"Allen?" He almost forgot he was still on the phone with Kanda.

"Not losing," Allen mumbled incoherently through chattering teeth. It's not even cold anymore.

"Come on, you idiot." Kanda wasn't angry anymore, and reverted back to his usual worried but somewhat apathetic voice.

Dosing off for a few seconds and then startling himself back awake; he fell out of the chair and onto the deck. "What was that?"

Allen couldn't reach his phone, much less pick himself up. "Shit," he mumbled when he realized his arms were too numb and shaky to work. The last thing running through his mind was that the Noah called him to wish him a happy birthday, and that Kanda was an asshole.

The porch door swung open and Kanda stepped out into the cold, cursing as the wind chilled him and nearly knocked him over. He bent down to look if Allen was still awake and kicked him with his boot. "Hey," he said, but didn't get a response. _His lips are turning blue,_ Kanda thought, feeling slightly guilty.

Not wasting any time out in the cold, Kanda lifted up his freezing and limp figure and silently shut the door behind him. Making sure he didn't fall over, he carried him up the stairs and prayed that they hadn't woken up Lenalee and Lavi.

He pulled up the covers on Allen's bed and set him down as gently as possible, which ended up being pretty rough._ Whatever._ He went over to the closet and picked out a heavy, woolen blanket. Gingerly wrapping it around Allen, who was shaking in his sleep, he made sure that it was secure before pulling the covers over him. Hesitant but still certain, he leaned over and softly kissed him on the cheek. Not really sure why he did it, he headed back over to his bed throughly puzzled and somewhat pissed off at himself.

Too tired to try to figure out what the hell was wrong with him, he fell beneath the covers and slipped into a comfortable but uncertain sleep.

* * *

**Everything about this chapter was too much fun to write. Sorry to my reviewers who dislike this sort of thing; less action than usual, I know, I know. It's not like I'm pulling a relationship out of nowhere and making it the main focus or anything like most writers are fond of doing; it's just one of the other things going on off to the side. I can pick right back up with the dark action right off the bat next chapter if you really want (just say the word!) but be careful what you wish for...**

**What business did the Noah want? And what does Christmas have in store for the gang?!**

**Till next update!**

**(as always, you reviewers are super sweet and helpful. p.s.- it was totally going to be black car, you were right on that one.)**


	13. Mind Games

_Allen was never too familiar with colors in the first place, but this was too much nothing all at once. He didn't like it._

"_Screaming, you say? In the middle of the street?"_

_He wasn't sure where he was, but it was washed white. The chair he sat in felt cold; the building felt colder. Someone stole all the warmth left in the air and left him shivering in a dull office. He didn't like it._

"_I think he was related to the man who died in the car wreck; that's what he said, at least. I didn't see a wreck, but I didn't check around any of the other streets. Although, with that hideous scar and arm, I doubt I'd call anyone a father to him," the man said wistfully._

_He saw the words, Social Service Department, printed on a piece of paper the same way they'd been placed on the side of the building. He let himself be led in here for no apparent reason; there was no reason to wait outside in the snow, either. They went to a little waiting room and waited on someone to come out. It was dark outside and the man mentioned Christmas, and his family._

_Allen remembered wishing him a Merry Christmas back out in the waiting room._

"_We're really not here for your diagnosis, although it was smart on your part to bring him here. Based on what you described, no, based on his behavior since you brought him here," the man winced slightly as he looked over at Allen, "I'd deem it as acute, untreated schizophrenia."_

"_Schizophrenia? Is that why we were led to the medical division of the building? He doesn't exactly seem like the type," the man replied. He could tell the man didn't like looking at him, because his eyes would never meet Allen's. Everyone's eyes did that. _

_Schizophrenia. Allen didn't like that word. He'd heard it once, back when Mana and he-_

_Mana. That name was familiar, wasn't it? He looked over at the relaxed man behind the desk._

"_Mana?" Allen questioned, but his voice was weak. They both ignored him._

"_I thought you said you hardly knew the boy? Those scars are evidence enough he's had some childhood trauma."_

_The room warped, like someone stuck their hand into a pool, and the ripples changed the atmosphere. Allen blinked a couple of times, and suddenly, the room was different. The man looked older, more aged, and much more afraid. _

_The desk lamp was the only thing in the room that was on, compared to the brightness before. It was snowing outside the window, and Allen fought back the urge to want to go play outside. He swung his legs back and forth in the tall chair and smiled at the thought of playing outside._

"_I don't have a right to question your reasoning, sir. And treatment?" The man who brought him in sat stiffly, looking over at Allen in fear._

_The other, presumably the one in charge, looked at Allen's current state and back at the man. Allen didn't like the looks they were giving him; he felt like a wounded, cornered animal. He wasn't really sure when he'd gotten here, or how long it'd been since-_

"_It'll take months, really. The longer you leave this disease alone, the more it rots out the brain. We'll have to keep him on the heavy narcotics until he stops screaming and exhibiting such, " he struggled for a word, "demonic outbursts. Then we'll see what medication works and what doesn't, and more importantly, what he remembers."_

_Since what?_

"_Therapy will pick off from there, but I doubt he'll ever leave an institution. This building is far too inadequate to deal with someone like this; I'm going to contact a couple of people in the London faction and see what I can do there. There's no one connected to this kid; we don't have an ID, or even a name to look up. White hair from trauma, disfigured face, malnourished: to be quite honest, not even an orphanage would let him in. No one is coming for him. Kids are so impressionable at this age; a terrifying tragedy he is, really."_

_I really don't have anyone. But I don't want to stay here. How long have I been here?_

"_You sound more interested than concerned. It's only been a week!" The man's words were tainted with bitterness. He could tell the man regretted ever getting to know Allen. _

_Wait, a week?_

_The other shrugged his shoulders. "What can I say? A perfect case study with no ties to the outside world shows up at my door and I'm supposed to not be excited?" The first man didn't share his enthusiasm. _

"_I'm just glad you brought him in. These kids grow up to be real psychopaths. The serial killer type. If he isn't already there," the doctor said while smiling at Allen._

"_Don't worry about him; he wasn't yours to begin with, right? You've done an amazing tribute to society; we could get some real answers about the disease from him. But for your welfare," he led the man out the door, "I'd pretend like this never happened."_

"_Not crazy," Allen mumbled as he started to put himself back together. He recognized the hesitant look in his eyes; he knew not to leave him here. His weary and pitiful glance was only for a fleeting moment, but it told Allen all he needed to know. _

_He was in hell._

_The man averted his eyes and left, turning his back on Allen. And the second he walked out, Allen was left with the darkening doctor. He could hear a soft mumbling, little voices crawling out through the floorboards. They're back._

_The ghosts that would sometimes materialize when he was younger were suddenly much more frequent; even worse, they were violent and starting to leave physical scratches and bruises. He wasn't sure which way to run, since he'd been led so far back in this building, and he wasn't sure which direction they were coming from. Instead, he just waited on the edge of his seat and nervously watched the man fill out some form. _

"_Something wrong?" The doctor asked and looked up at him. _

_The guy didn't seem all that evil. Maybe he didn't have to run; he just needed to draw the symbol, right? Then they'd go away, just like they always did. He wondered where he learned the drawing._

"_Can I have some paper, and a pen?" Allen whispered as the voices started to materialize. He caught a flash of the dark shadows._

"_Art therapy only starts a month after treatment, if you're a good boy," The doctor said and patted his head for good measure. _

_Not good. He considered running again; this man seemed particularly aloof, and probably wouldn't be able to stop him. However, if he wasn't worried then he knew someone would catch Allen before he could take a step out the front door. It was how all big gamblers acted; he just had to find a way to cheat them out of their own game. _

_He wasn't sure where this doctor's medical room led to in the main building and was just going to end up lost. _

"_Please," Allen said as politely as possible. The people he saw so often started to grow back like weeds in the cracks of the sidewalk._

"_They're coming back, please," Allen repeated and started involuntarily shaking as they got louder._

"_Who, might I ask, is coming back? What is it that you see?" The man's glasses flashed in the light got up from his desk. He leaned in to get a better look at Allen, who was trying to melt into the chair._

_Words stuck to the inside of his mouth like chewing gum and he couldn't seem to form a coherent sentence. He shook his head as the same stitch work girl came closer. He was hyperventilating and starting to shake the chair, shifting as far away as possible from the girl. _

_He only met the face of another rotting corpse on the other side, gripping his skin and sinking it's decrepit nails in his arm. He cried out in pain at the acidic touch and came up with a personal ultimatum for survival. He had to draw the symbol, no matter what._

"_Oh dear, I ought to call a nurse," the doctor murmured as he watched Allen's display of fear._

_Allen started carving into his right hand, with sharp, blackened fingernails. Blood was dripping out almost immediately as he tried to draw the two circles he'd seen in the snow. He stopped suddenly; where did he learn this?_

"_Keep going," the doctor said in interest, but Allen was blocking out everything but the symbol ingrained in his head. He could feel his mouth moving and but couldn't hear a thing, and dug his nail in deeper to make the different symbols that laced the two circles. His skin was burning from their touch; his ears were churning up their voices into a painful sludge that sent him gagging._

_Allen stopped drawing; it wasn't working this time. The doctor roughly grabbed his hand and admired his handiwork; there were a couple of scars just like it beneath._

"_Why do you do this, exactly?" He questioned as he wiped off the dripping blood to get a better look. _

"_It makes them go away," Allen could hear how crazy he sounded but disregarded it, "but it's not working."_

"_Is it because it's not deep enough? Must be hard to do it over the other scars you've left on that right hand of yours." He gave Allen back his hand and walked over to the other side of the room to get something._

"_I just need something to write with," Allen pleaded as he looked at the failed symbol. The ghosts were crowding around the chair, screaming and gasping out in pain. He felt like he was in a fishbowl, with everyone tapping on the glass with no concern about the cracks they left._

"_Here," the man said as he walked back, "use this."_

_He knew he looked crazy, the way he grabbed for it. And he sealed the nail in his coffin when he plunged the scalpel knife into his skin like it was nothing. No matter what, he had to make it stop. He had to make them go away._

_There was blood everywhere as he dragged the knife through his hand. It was starting to work as he re-paved the pattern back into his skin, using his nail scrapes as an outline. The souls cried out and muffled into the distance. When he finally snapped out of his trance, he had to tug a little to get the blade out and tried not to look at the torn up skin or sheer amount of blood. The knife slipped from his fingers and he realized exactly what he'd done. _

"_Allen, you just shoved a knife clean through your hand," the doctor said as he pulled his bleeding hand closer to his face and saw the wound the blade made on the inside of his palm compared to the back of his hand. "Did you do this to your face, too?"_

_He was horrified, he was shaking, and he was utterly and terribly helpless as the man started talking on the phone to get a nurse to come assist him. _

"_I wouldn't, no, I never," Allen started sobbing as the blood stained everything in sight. There wasn't a point in fighting as a woman came in and took no care in shoving the needle into his arm._

"_Do you think you could give me a name? Even if it's just one you like, or one you made up," the man said as he dialed another number on his phone._

"_Allen," he murmured weakly as he fell in the chair in tattered pieces, "Allen Walker."_

_He didn't want to wake up._

"Yuu, I think you broke him," Lavi said nervously.

"It wasn't my fault!"

Allen slowly registered the voices in the room, but didn't dare to open his eyes. He was freezing, but his shirt was stuck to his skin from sweat. _Cold chills?_

"Ah," he said involuntarily, and felt his head tip back.

"Allen, are you awake?" Lavi said, but then realized what was going on and pulled Kanda back.

"-Cho!" Allen sneezed and nearly fell out of bed.

"That's a wicked case of bedhead you've got, man," Lavi said as Allen pulled the oppressive blankets off and sat up.

He could pretend like that dream wasn't real; that it didn't happen. But the scar he had on his right hand was proof alone that it happened.

"I've been told that," Allen said in a much stuffier voice than he expected.

_They were the ones tearing up the sheets and clawing the walls! I'm not even tall enough to reach that high! You have to believe me! _

_The disoriented mornings he woke up to after passing out were the worst; his hair was a mess from falling from grace and back into hell once again as the clock ticked by. His eyes were quarries of quartz dug out from restless, black mine shafts. His skin was translucent, a ghostly pale that was stretched too thin across his bleached bones. _

_The nurses paid no mind to his antics and locked him up in the dim, "time out" room. The grown ups called it solitary confinement. They kept him in the darkness until he admitted that he was the one who drew on the walls; that he was the one tearing up his sheets, that he was the one scraping his nails into the hardwood. But he only lied to try to escape that dark, horrible room he spent so much time in. Sometimes days, sometimes weeks. _

_The nurses hated him._

_I'm not crazy,_ he always reminded himself. Not crazy.

But he took the pills anyway, and Cross didn't protest when he saw the bottles long after they'd met. He took them every godforsaken night and he knew they were just tranquilizers. He wasn't crazy, but everyone else was convinced he was. He convinced himself a long time ago.

"Are you sick?!" Lavi pulled him back into reality.

_Stop it, Allen,_ he reminded himself,_ don't go back. Don't remember. Don't remember. Don't forget to not remember, remember? _

"I'm not si-" A sneeze cut his protest off.

"This is just great," Kanda muttered and walked back down the stairs.

"Hey, it's your fault for locking me outside!" Allen yelled back, but Kanda pretended not to hear him.

Lavi shook his head and put a hand up to Allen's forehead. "That's a fever, alright. Lenalee could straighten her hair with your face."

"I'm not sick! I'm sure it's just a hangover," Allen said with nervous laughter. He climbed out of bed and the room was suddenly freezing, sending him shivering again. He looked at the clock next to his bed, and then glared at Lavi.

"What?" He said sheepishly.

"Seven in the morning," he said flatly.

"Everyone knows you shouldn't waste an hour of Christmas," Lavi recited, and Allen gave him a whack over the head before heading over to the bathroom.

* * *

Showers always made him feel better, no matter what the situation was. But for some reason, he couldn't seem to wash his anger and apathy down the drain and stepped out of the bathroom even more pathetic and downcast than before. Plus, he wouldn't stop shivering.

Looking at his ungloved hands always disgusted him; he'd learned the meaning of the word disgusting back when he was locked up. Disgusting wasn't just a feeling inside of him; it was the looks of passersby, it the times he was tied to the bed and leaned over to puke into a bucket they usually left out, it was when he spat back in the nurses' faces, it was a word painted into his skin with red ink. It was the lip-gloss the doctor wore every time he grinned. It was the face that looked back at him in the mirror every day.

He grabbed a soft blanket from the closet and wrapped it around himself, heading back over to his bed. Everyone was downstairs, or from what he could tell from all the noise, and he glanced over at his phone. Calendar Event: Birthday.

Birthday.

The word started seeping in through his skull and he felt the phone carelessly slip through his fingers and to the floor. Not bothering to pick it up or check for its welfare, he climbed down the stairs while clutching the blanket. Memories of his first birthdays in the hospital were coming back, but he forced them down with the sour taste in his mouth. Man, he was dizzy.

When he came down the stairs, Lenalee was lounging on the couch, still in her pajamas and half-asleep.

"Why do we wake up this early, again?" Lenalee said while yawning. Kanda was sitting in an armchair, looking half asleep but still alert. How he managed that, Allen wasn't sure, but he could sense that Kanda wasn't happy with being awake either.

"Don't you American's do presents? 'Cause I got each of you something downtown the other day, and," Lavi's noise of excitement cut him off and Allen took it as a yes.

"Americans?" Lenalee repeated, and Kanda smirked at Allen. He was getting too comfortable around them with all these slip-ups he kept making.

"Presents! Presents, presents, presents," Allen laughed a little as he was pushed back up the stairs to the sound of Lavi's chant. When he came back down the stairs for the second time, Lavi immediately bombarded him and took the three bags.

"We used to do a secret Santa thing," Lenalee said as she opened her gift, "but it only ended up with someone buying Lavi alcohol, someone giving me a horribly off-color gift, and Kanda seeing how far he could throw whatever was handed to him."

"It ended up being a distance contest with Kanda," Lavi said cheerfully.

"I only made it across the room, but Lavi got out the window, once. Just because he bought him a-"

"Shut up," Kanda said and eyed the gift box presented to him by Lavi.

"Oh my god," Lavi said in disbelief as he opened the gift.

"A PIRATE EYEPATCH? This is the best thing ever!" It really wasn't hard to get a present for Lavi; he could have fun with a piece of string.

"What have you done?" Kanda muttered as Lavi skipped off to the bathroom to put it on.

"There's a skull and crossbones bandana in here, too! Allen, you're the sickest Santa I've ever head!"

He almost fought up the courage to ask why he wore an eye patch, but backed out at the last second. "Thanks, I guess," Allen yelled down the hall.

Lenalee opened her gift and her eyes lit up. Allen had to get help from one of the girls he met on the first day of school, and they directed him off to the perfume department.

It was a trap, of course; they led him deep within the catacombs of the sickly-sweet smelling store and left him for dead. After an hour or two of being lost, he finally decided on a soft rosy smell that was reminiscent of fresh fruit and honeysuckles. The lady gave him a discount if he bought some lotion and bubble bath and wrapped it up in a sweet bag for him.

Suddenly her expression turned suspicious, and she asked, "Guys aren't supposed to give good presents. Who helped you?"

"Well, I asked Lou Fa for advice, and she told me that girls usually like perfume and lotion and stuff like that, but she ditched me in the middle of a perfume store. Anyway, I just went with that and picked out a smell that reminded me of you," Allen said while recalling the terrifying experience.

She sprayed the perfume and the scent burst into the room, sweet and soft without overpowering and making everyone sick.

"Cherry blossoms," she murmured quietly and then smiled at Allen. "Thank you."

Suddenly Lavi came skidding out of the bathroom and tackled Allen. "You're the best! Now all I need is a pirate hat!"

Everyone decided the eye patch did look cute, with a little skull and crossbones pattern on it. Allen reminded Lavi that he might be sick, and he jumped off him.

"Right, so has Kanda thrown his gift across the room yet? Who has a ruler; let's see if Allen beats Lenalee's record!"

Everyone had totally forgotten about Kanda, who was silently sitting in the chair. He'd already opened his gift and was staring at the small box, lost in thought.

"Ah, I had no idea what to get you that you wouldn't hate. But I noticed your watch broke when Road," he stopped and corrected himself, "the other day. It's practical, which is the only reason I think you'd accept it, but you don't have to wear-"

"Thanks," he murmured as he stared at it. Allen spent a lot of time looking for a gift; even longer when he decided on getting a watch for him. It wasn't like an ordinary faced watch; the glass was translucent and you could see all the intricate gears beneath, all in black and white. The hands that spun around on top of the gears were gold, although the watch itself was black.

"You're welcome," Allen said slowly, a little taken aback.

"Boo, Allen, you lose the distance game. You didn't even make it one foot," Lavi said and went over to look at the watch. "That's super neat!"

"Well, since you've already made this about the best Christmas ever, I'm going to go make pancakes for you!" Lenalee said excitedly and skipped off to the kitchen.

"Lenalee, don't forget about Captain Lavi!" He whined and chased after her.

"Oh, fine, fine. I'm making you some, too, Kanda. With the strawberries you usually like?" She called out from the kitchen, but Kanda didn't reply and she took that as a yes.

"Strawberries," Allen said as he sat down on the couch.

"Birthday," Kanda said, trumping Allen's dig at him. He winced, unable to hide his obvious discomfort. _Don't think about it. You're here to have fun with Lavi and Lenalee and Kanda, right?_

"Allen?" Kanda was hovering over him and slightly lifted Allen's jaw to lift his gaze up to Kanda's eye level_. When did he get there? Did I just pass out?_

"You two had better not be killing each other! Get over here already!" Allen shook himself free and got up from the couch.

"It smells great in here," Allen said brightly as he sat down in a chair by the table. He had to stay up and distracted; he couldn't afford a landslide dip down memory lane.

"If I hear any women in the kitchen jokes, not only will you lose your pancakes," Allen got up and helped the menacing Lenalee set the table, "you will be sleeping outside in the metaphorical and literal dog house." The three boys shrunk under her voice and nodded.

Allen glanced out the window; the snow was ten times thicker than the night before, and there was still more billowing and twirling in the wind. If he didn't know any better, he'd say a blizzard was setting in.

"Here you are, Allen," Lenalee said and set a stack of pancakes in front of him, "you'd better eat them all, too! I'm sure with that appetite of yours it'll be no problem, though."

He nodded and started eating as she handed out some to Lavi and Kanda. There was no taste to any of the food; he wasn't sure if it was because of the fact that he might be sick or if his apathy had seeped into his taste buds. He complimented her cooking anyway, which she cheered in happiness to. Just as she was about to take a bite, Kanda spat back out his food and glared at Lenalee.

"What?" Lavi asked before he put his fork in his mouth.

"Is that salt on the counter, rather than sugar?"

A moment of silence fell over the group, and Lavi dropped his fork when he took a bite and his face soured.

"The pancakes betrayed me," he said miserably after a hard swallow.

"But wait, Allen ate them!" Lavi said and inspected the suspicious pancakes. They were warm and fluffy, but he knew the trickery they contained and fought against the urge to take another bite.

"Hey, Kanda, how much you wanna bet me to eat all of these," Lavi said while nudging him. Kanda pushed his plate away with two fingers and Lenalee looked like she was on the verge of tears as she moped over her failed pancakes.

"Wait a second," Allen said as he finally remembered something, "you lost the bet!"

"Allen!" Kanda yelled, sounding extremely out-of-character upset.

"Allen, no!" Lenalee cried out in despair.

Lavi grinned and replied, "We did almost forget, didn't we? Thanks for reminding me."

Lenalee gave a noise of disgust and hid her face in her hands as he took off his jacket. "Are you going to undress in front of everyone? Lavi, thats-"

"This bet has turned into a horrible, horrible thing Allen. Letting Lavi win means we have to put up with his shameless act, but Kanda won't lose because he doesn't want to do it, and I'm stuck in the middle being traumatized!" Lenalee said and Allen regretted his words.

"God, why don't you two stop this," Allen said as he looked away.

"Whoever calls off the bet has to," Kanda couldn't seem to be able to finish his sentence and gagged a little.

"Anyway! Get this over with you three!" Lenalee yelled and acted as if she was going to crawl into the stove. She shoved them all out the door and went to clean up the kitchen in a depressed huff.

"Why did this even become a thing between you two," Allen muttered as the three stepped out into the freezing outdoors.

"A right of rite friendship, right, Kanda?" Lavi said while bumping his shoulder.

"Get away from me," Kanda said sharply and pushed him away. Allen didn't blame him; he was just in his boxers.

"No," Allen yelled a little too high-pitched, "leave those on. Please."

"Whatever," Lavi chirped and stretched as if he were about to start a track meet, "To the car and back, right?"

Kanda nodded, and Lavi took off while cheering and crying out as the fresh snow came up halfway up to his knees.

"Nothing fazes him," Allen murmured as he watched him play around in the snow like a five-year-old.

"He's always been like that," Kanda replied while rolling his eyes at the sight.

"How long have you known each other, exactly?" Allen asked, although he knew he probably wasn't going to get an answer.

There was a long pause, and Allen assumed that Kanda's silence meant his usual annoyance. Lavi slowly disappeared into swirling snow, and so did his voice.

"We knew each other as kids, back when I lived with my parents," Kanda finally said. Curiosity flared up in Allen's throat; parents? Were they still alive? And why'd he live near Lavi?

"They're still alive," Kanda added, speaking as if his tongue was stuck to his teeth. His jaw was locked in a tight apprehension, and he seemed lost in thought.

Allen was truly terrible with these things; he'd never gotten used to human interaction. Holding up a conversation was even an impressive feat for him, but touchy subjects weren't his forte. Spending your childhood locked away didn't do much for social development.

Finally forming up a respectable response, he opened his mouth to speak. Kanda cut him off before he could reply and said, "Lavi has been gone too long."

"Do you think something happened?"

Kanda didn't respond, but he looked around warily and then ducked in a split second response. Allen didn't respond as quickly as Kanda did, and a resounding thud filled the cloudy air. Too stunned to even comprehend what was going on, Allen got a face full of snow and a stunned expression. Like a windshield wiper, he brushed it all off and glared when he saw Lavi peeking out from the side of the house.

"That was so uncalled for, Lavi! Get bent, you arse-"

"'Uncalled for'? 'Get bent'? You're speakin' the Queen's English!" Lavi dodged a snowball headed straight for his face with a loud squeak.

Allen bent down and scooped up a ball of snow. He glared at the emptiness where Lavi had been a second ago, and brushed past Kanda to scan the battlefield.

"Aha!" Allen twisted on his heel, finding Lavi hiding on the opposite side of the porch. There was a satisfying "Oof", and Allen smirked.

"What the hell is taking you three so long?!" Lenalee came storming out the front door, only to stumble backward at the impact of a snowball.

"You didn't just," Allen stared in shock, as Lavi stood with his mouth ajar. Lavi looked at his hand, and back at Lenalee's snow covered face. Kanda looked like he was debating driving all the way home to avoid Lenalee's wrath.

"I was aiming for Kanda! I swear!"

"Hey, fuck you," Kanda said and prepared a snowball, but Lenalee held him back.

"It's okay Kanda. I'll take care of this."

"I'd start running," she said menacingly. Her boots clicked on the porch as she approached him with a glare that melted the snow in her path.

"Nice knowing you!" Allen said cheerfully to Lavi as Lenalee sprinted after his terrified figure._ Still hasn't put his clothes back on,_ Allen thought with a sigh.

An unexpected force smacked him in the back of the head and Allen looked back at Kanda in bewilderment.

"You've started a war," Allen quickly grabbed some snow and patted it together, "that you will definitely lose."

"Try me," Kanda's haughty remark was cut off by a face full of snow.

He suddenly grew serious as Allen hid behind a chair to avoid his anger-fueled snowball. He went on the offensive and scuffed Kanda's shoulder.

"You're dead, beansprout!"

* * *

"You two," Lenalee said sternly as she took them by the collar.

"Are going to sit down," she forced them down on the couch, "and not fight. And not say anything bad about Christmas movies. Just don't talk to each other." She turned her back on them and sat on the floor next to Lavi, who was flipping channels aimlessly. Lenalee finally forgave Lavi after a good half hour, more because of his impending frostbite rather than his pitiful pleas.

Allen and Kanda were both covered in snow and soaked clothing, neither saying a word as Lenalee chastised them both. Allen glared at Kanda, who tried to match his anger but looked away after a few seconds. "No glaring!" Lenalee said without looking behind her.

Lavi stopped on a channel and cheered, "Tokyo drift!"

"That's not in the spirit of Christmas, exactly," Lenalee said in dismay.

"If you look closely, you can see Allen driving," Lavi said while grinning and bumped Lenalee's shoulder. She laughed and let him leave it on the channel.

Allen considered getting up to go change out of his freezing clothes but instead hid in the towel Lenalee gave him before she settled in. He clutched it tightly and sneezed as the cold got the better of him.

"Stop shivering so much. And stop being so sick," Kanda muttered as he wrung out his hair.

Allen rolled his eyes and decided that he was dry enough to not track snow anywhere as he headed up the stairs. He locked himself in the bathroom and peeled off the soaking wet clothing, leaving it hanging over the shower for the moment. As he changed into the warm sweater and sweatpants Lavi lent him, he instantly felt better. Although they were a little too big. Damn his height.

He pushed back his damp hair and looked at the scar on his forehead while pursing his lips. It had definitely gotten darker; the pentacle was filled in, rather than the thin outline it had once been. It was starting to get worse than the first time he noticed, but he really had no solution to stop the rapid scarring.

His gloves were wet from throwing snow around with reckless abandon but he slipped them back on anyway. When he came back downstairs the couch was empty and Lenalee and Lavi were bickering over whether a stunt was possible or not.

Allen sat down and Kanda soon followed after, swaggering back over with a large mug.

"What's in that?" He pointed at the suspicious mug and Kanda just sat down next to him with a sigh.

He took a long sip before replying, "Medicine for my headache. You three never shut the hell up." He held it over for Allen to smell and he nearly gagged at the straight liquor he had in the cup.

_Why do these guys drink so much?_ It seemed like Kanda was only gone for a few seconds as he got up and sat back down with another up of the awful mixture. He sat down a lot closer to Allen this time, with the side of his hip pressed against the other.

Kanda seemed more laid-back than usual, and his upright and polite composure was relaxed and casual. When he drank this time, he offered the cup to Allen, who just glowered in response.

Allen looked over at the movie, and then at Lenalee and Lavi, who were whispering and laughing beneath a blanket. The movie that they'd originally been playing was now a completely different one, but he wasn't sure if it was a Christmas special or not.

"Kanda," Allen looked away from the pair and back at him, "are those two really just best friends?"

"I don't get involved in that shit," Kanda said bluntly. There was not a romantic bone in this guy's body.

The movie, Inception as Lavi labeled it, seemed to drag on and didn't make much sense. Allen felt sleepy, and reached around for his phone to check the time. He must've left it upstairs, and casually asked Kanda for the time. Even if he never picks up the damn thing, Kanda always has his phone on him.

"Nine thirty or so," Kanda said as he glanced at his watch. Nine thirty? He tried to picture that in military time and then realized how early it was. Allen was in the process of thanking him when he realized he looked at his watch for the time.

"The watch," Allen said brightly as he looked at Kanda's thin wrist, "you're wearing it!"

Kanda seemed a little embarrassed and hid his wrist while making his usual annoyed clicking of his tongue.

"Whatever, whatever, you can play the tsundere type all you want. I'm just glad you like it," Allen replied. The word tundere seemed to strike a nerve and Kanda jabbed him in the stomach with a free elbow. With a loud groan, Allen clutched his stomach and kneeled over in pain.

While Allen tried to replace the air in his lungs, Kanda reached at the base of Allen's neck; apparently his necklace fell out from beneath his sweater when he keeled over.

"Why do you wear this all the time? It's like your damn gloves," Kanda said and he ran his thumb over the pattern.

"Just like my damn gloves, it really doesn't concern you," he replied sharply.

Lenalee gave a menacing look over her shoulder and they both quieted down. He tried to pay attention once again, but it was far to late to make any sense of this movie.

"Why is it that you seem to know everything about us," Kanda glanced over at Lavi and Lenalee, "but we know nothing about you?"

"You know about Cross," Allen countered but Kanda shook his head.

"I wasn't talking about that bastard. I was talking about you," Kanda replied. Allen faltered for a comeback at this point; there was a reason he didn't share his secrets.

A handful of years passed by before he was even able to think, much less escape. The light burnt him when he snuck away, the outdoors was far too big, and he was utterly lost and confused. He'd thrown himself into a foreign country and from the place he knew. Even if he hated the institution, it was the only thing he'd ever had as a home.

After a year on his own, he knew London well enough to realize the ways to sea-facing towns and when certain ships ran back and forth between America. Allen remembered his personality back then; he wasn't even half the height of a street lamp but was as sadistic as a killer. He learned to gamble for the money he needed, fight when he needed to, and slip through the streets when he had to disappear. No one could guess his age with the scar and colorless hair. He would've stayed in London; but one thing drew him out of the shadows.

Mana.

"What's with that look?"

Allen snapped out of his trance and tried not to think about the past. London was a tiny blip in his memories; it was the institution that truly destroyed his personality.

"I don't," Allen was having trouble speaking, as his insides seemed to be collapsing and crashing like unstable skyscrapers. _What's wrong with me today?_

"Let me guess," Kanda said sarcastically, "It's none of my concern, right?"

Did running away count as moving forward? He focused on not remembering; why was this all suddenly coming back to haunt him?

"If there's one thing I don't understand, it's you," Kanda said and let out an exasperated sigh.

There was a loud explosion on the TV and Lenalee and Lavi both gasped beneath the boom of the stereo. Allen jumped, the sudden noise scaring the lights out of him.

"Allen," Kanda muttered after the explosions calmed down.

"What?" He looked down and realized he was gripping Kanda's arm tightly. He let go of the fabric he was almost ripping, but Kanda caught his hand. The way he was staring at Allen was strange; he couldn't put his finger on what was different from for the anger and concern. It was almost as if he substituted apathy for—

Kanda leaned in ever so slightly, still loosely holding Allen's wrist. He blushed a few shades darker when he realized that Kanda definitely wanted to kiss him; if he hadn't been stuck in his head all day, he would've easily realized Kanda dropped hints all day long. He was even treating him like an actual person.

_But why?_

Hesitant and growing redder by each second, Kanda seemed unsure or not if he should actually go through with it. Allen leaned in and as Kanda's hand brushed his face and lips came closer, he tried to figure out what had filled in the giant gap from hatred to this. Whatever this counted as.

Allen gave up on trying to fathom his indiscernible feelings and leaned in to kiss him. It suddenly occurred to him that Kanda was still loosely holding onto his hand.

_That's right,_ he remembered in spit of himself. _Kanda's a jackass with no feelings._

Before Allen could stop him, he felt a slight tug on the fabric on his fingertips to loosen up the glove's grasp on his skin; within the same moment, Kanda pulled it off and snatched Allen's hand before he could pull it back.

Kanda stopped short of kissing him and gripped his wrist to inspect his hand. Allen couldn't seem to form any words that matched his surprise and attempted to yank his arm back with as much force as possible.

Kanda had gotten a hold of his right hand; the one he'd carved up on the first week he was brought in to the institution. The scar was still visible, too much for Allen's taste, and he never took off either of his gloves for a legitimate reason. Kanda raised an eyebrow and looked at his hand and then back at Allen's necklace.

"Asshole," Allen hissed and with a sharp tug, his hand slipped through Kanda's fingers.

"Wait a second!" Allen ducked from his grasp and ran up the stairs, making sure to send a lovely little hand gesture in his general direction.

When he came up to the dark room, he noticed a bright light from under his bed. Clutching his ungloved hand, he looked under the bed and realized his phone was hidden beneath. There was a missed call from thirty minutes ago, the same number as last night. He gingerly picked up the phone and locked himself out on the balcony.

* * *

"Are you quite sure he's alright? And haven't we talked about smoking in the house!?"

"It doesn't really matter what I think, does it? Can't stop him," Tyki muttered while blowing out smoke. Sheryl's worried tone always seemed to strike a nerve with him, no matter who he was fretting over.

"Lulubell told him not to. Hell, I told him not to, Sheryl. If the Earl found out," Tyki clicked his tongue as he heard the sound of someone throwing up on the other side of the door.

"I'm not listening to this any longer," Road growled and kicked open the door with her foot.

"I concur, " Sheryl said sharply and followed her inside the room.

Deciding he wanted a look, too, Tyki sauntered into the room after the pair. The pressure in the room almost shattered his eardrums, and left him with a major headache and a sour taste in his mouth. The disturbance of the air left the occupant stunned a little and he flinched while cursing.

"Wisely! You're making us all sick, asshole! Just give up already!" Road vulgar words received a slap on the wrist from Sheryl, and the three looked at the sorry sight in silence.

Wisely looked as if he was meditating, arms resting on his knees and legs folded. Beneath him was a large eye that pierced through the dark room. He had incense burning next to him that left a heavy smoke and a bucket that Tyki deemed as a bad idea to look into when he remembered the noises on the other side of the door.

"I'm working. Get out," he muttered in a drab tone. His striped scarf was loose, and Tyki could see his strange eyes on his forehead closed in concentration. That was still creepy, no matter how many times he saw it.

"You're going to end up passing out and hiding in the dark for a week again from the headaches. Come on, Wisely, we'll get the answers from him in person," Tyki mumbled as he looked around the room in disinterest. Everything was dusty, except for the floor Wisely sat on. The kid didn't seem to do much but meditate these days, pissing off his adoptive Noah, Sheryl.

Tyki didn't mind his reclusive state; he was a bit of a spaz when it came right down to it and reminded him somewhat of the redheaded kid Allen usually hung out with. Except, he had a much shorter fuse and a quicker wit; Tyki assumed that came along with reading minds, though.

Wisely cracked open an eye and looked over at Tyki. "Don't compare me to him. And I'm not creepy looking!"

"The point is you've locked yourself in here for the past couple of days, and for what? Don't use your power if it's going to hurt yourself like this!" Sheryl said, and stepped towards him. Road tugged on his sleeve, and didn't let his foot touch the eye beneath Wisely.

"It's not using the power that's hurting him. It's whatever he's seeing," she murmured. Wisely looked over at Road, and broke his concentration a little to talk to them.

"The kid has some skeletons in his closet, that's for sure," Wisely said with a sigh and then eyed Tyki, "you being one of them."

"Me? I'm innocent," Tyki said while holding up his hands.

"That's definitely not what you're thinking," he muttered in distaste.

"I saw an opening, Sheryl, and took it," he said to address whatever was hidden behind Sheryl's pursed lips.

"Someone knocked him unconscious. That's like taking down all the firewalls and not expecting a virus! But now," he winced a little, "I'm too far in to find a way out. Every time I try to pull myself out of his head I get snagged on another memory; his subconscious is like a bunch of tripwires, probably created to protect himself. But pulling through these disgusting things is starting to get to me."

"No, Road," he said while looking at her grinning face, "don't go find him and knock him out. He'll fall asleep eventually, and I can make it out then. I hope."

Just as the words left his mouth, the eye beneath him widened and Wisely grunted in pain. The three looked at each other in helplessness, and Sheryl reached out to comfort him again. Tyki caught his hand and muttered, "You don't want to get caught up in that. If it's this hard for Wisely to stay grounded, you'll get lost forever."

Suddenly Tyki's cell started ringing, and he pulled it out. "Look who it is; almost as if he can tell we're talking about him."

"Stop that stupid ringing now!" Wisely yelled and gagged at the sharp noise. Even sound waves disrupted his concentration and nauseated him to the point of hurling.

"Right, right, sorry," Tyki replied quickly and answered the call.

"_What'd you call for?"_

"Straight to the point, as always, Allen," Tyki said with fake laughter. Wisely looked over at him in anger and mouthed out death threats.

Sheryl took the phone from Tyki and said, "We've run into a bit of trouble, and require assistance from an outside party."

"_Is this the same guy who told me to pick up the phone yesterday or else? Why don't you stick to killing me rather than trying to work with me?" _

"Are you always this uncouth? Someone ought to have taught you better manners towards someone seeking help," Sheril said angrily.

"The kid's had Wisely in his head all day, Sheryl, cut him some slack," Tyki said while running a finger through the dust on the windowsill.

"_Who is this I'm speaking with, exactly? I'm not trying to be rude, it's just I've got a bad headache and it hasn't been the best day. Let's just both do ourselves a favor and delete the number, alright?"_

"I'd like to say we're asking nicely," Sheryl sounded much more serious than he had earlier, "but it's not a request at this point. Don't make me use force."

There was a yawn and Allen sleepily replied, "What are you gonna do, try to kill me again? Like you already have planned?" There was a long pause.

Sheryl handed the phone to Tyki and looked over at Wisely. "I think he needs to be taught a lesson as to why people do not mess with the Noah."

"Sheryl," Road whined, not liking where this was headed. Everyone had been on their last nerves the past couple of days, but for a good reason.

"Get out of his head, would you?"

Wisely looked at him as if he was crazy. "You're kidding me, right? It would take an hour or two to manually leave without setting off any memories, excluding the amount of pain for both sides! I'm not lookin' to go brain-dead!"

"Speak with proper manners! Besides, if you step out of the circle you're sitting in, every connection will snap off immediately and the ties will sever, correct? You won't feel a thing."

"Maybe I won't, but," he looked a little disgusted Sheryl's suggestion, "I thought we needed the kid? If I step out, then all the nerves in his brain that I've tapped into will be set off at once. If he makes it through the physical trauma, the mental will knock him out for at least a couple of days. And with memories like these, that's like unleashing hell itself. I'm not doin' it."

Tyki saw exactly where this was headed, and with an exchanged glade with Road, he pulled the phone up to his ear. "Allen," Tyki said a bit more worried than he should have, "just say you'll do it. We can work out the terms later."

There was no response, and when Tyki listened in closely he could hear Allen bickering with the raven-haired one he'd forgotten the name of.

"Sheryl, I said no!"

Tyki looked back over at Wisely, whose breath was heavy from struggling between keeping his mind here and in Allen's head. Tyki cursed under his breath when he saw the glint of the wire-like strings appearing from Sheryl's fingertips.

"Disobedient boy, you really ought to act more like your sister," Sheryl said sternly as he started moving his fingers in odd positions, almost like a puppeteer.

"This is too far, and you know it," Tyki said threateningly as Wisely started to get up against his will. Tyki eyed Road and nodded his head, in hopes that she might get the cue and distract him. If there was anyone who could control the puppeteer, it was his darling little daughter.

Her eyes were wide and she shook her head to indicate a firm no, too afraid of Sheryl to get in the way. There were moments when even Tyki recognized the insanity in the man; usually, they just stepped out of the way and turned a blind eye.

_Attacking one of our own?_ Tyki knew the Noah's memory was deteriorating after all these years; but this was farther than any of them had gone.

"Road, let's go," Tyki said through pursed lips and led her out of the room. Wisely nodded at him in respect; engaging would only make things worse.

"Why, Tyki," Road sounded concerned as Tyki slammed the door, "why are we all falling apart?"

"Perhaps we've fallen from God's grace," Tyki murmured as he looked at the phone. He could still lightly hear Kanda and Allen arguing.

"Hang up," Road said suddenly as a silence fell over the line. She knew what was about to happen and didn't want to listen to it.

She frantically reached for the phone. "Hang up, Tyki!"

"I said, hang-"

Allen's ear-splitting scream burst out through the grainy speaker on Tyki's phone. Road held her hands up to her ears to block it out and started tearing up.

"Jesus Christ," Tyki muttered as the glass-shattering screaming continued and he could hear Sheryl laughing in the other room. The phone cut out as he crushed it in his fist, snapping the screen and inside circuits until all the pieces fell to the floor.

Road followed after him as he quietly looked around the house for someone. Eventually his shoes clicked down the stairs and Road uncertainty followed him down; the silence was unnerving.

"I don't like that face, Tyki," Road said as his usual aloof nature was gone.

"I'm the oldest Noah, and I haven't gone crazy. Sheryl's just is having a bad day, right?" She said cheerily but he could hear her hitched breathing.

"The fact that you aren't the one deteriorating is most worrying," Tyki replied. It could be any one of us next.

"Please tell me that face means good news," Devit said as Road and Tyki approached him on the couch. "Is Allen going to help out?"

Devit was a nervous wreck but tried to hide it as he curled up on the couch. Ever since the disappearance of Jasdero, he'd lost his cocky attitude.

He rolled his eyes when Tyki looked at him dully. While flipping channels, he mumbled, "Who was doin' all the screamin' anyway? Did you finally pull Wisely out of his room or somethin' and the light burned his vampire skin? He's so pale he might not even be a Noah anymore."

"Sheryl's lost it!" Road blurted out, and Devit stopped and looked over at her in disbelief.

"He's doing the same thing Skin did a month ago, except he used his ability on Wisely," Tyki said matter-of-factly.

"Attacking another Noah? Why?" Devit said confusedly.

"Get Lulubell to help calm him, would you? Road and I have somewhere else to be," Tyki said and headed for the door.

"You're seriously going to leave me alone with a rogue Noah? What if he doesn't calm down? What could be more important than my health and safety?!"

"We've got to go check on a more pressing matter, Devit. Unfortunately, Allen's sanity is a little more important than you right now, considering how things stand."

"Wait! What's going on?"

"It's all going to be fine, Devit. We've just got to see if Allen's still alive or not, and then we'll be back," Road said and blew him a kiss.

"Lulubell is going to kill you two for running off!"

"Let's hope she keeps her sanity in check," Tyki murmured as Road and he stepped out into the snowy night.

"You guys, if you find out anything about Jasdero," Devit tried his best to stop the shaking in his voice, "tell me, alright?"

"You've got it," Road said while biting her lip.

* * *

**I really want to use all the Noah, but half of them don't even have real names. *Glares in Hoshino's direction***

**Well, the Noah are falling apart, the Order is in shambles, and Allen might be dead. **

**Till next chapter...?**

**(I might hit 100 reviews this chapter and I'll probably cry a lot because you guys are super amazing. Thank you so much!)**


	14. Edgar

"Allen! Allen, answer me! Oh my god, please, please, Allen!" Lenalee was cupping his face in her hands and forcing him to sit up. She was yelling his name through her sobs and trying to get through to him, but Allen was completely unresponsive. His eyes were blank, empty mirrors that showed no signs of life, and was he crouched over his knees, screaming in pain. She tried to get a hold of his hands before he pulled out his hair from raking them through the white locks; he struggled against her iron grip to no avail.

"Lenalee, step back for a moment, alright? He might be having a stroke or a seizure." Lavi tried his best to sound calm but the blood-curling screams Allen was letting out were downright horrifying. He put a hand on Lenalee's shoulder and she looked at him for a moment before nodding and backing off.

"Allen, buddy, can you answer us? We might be able to help, okay, so, I just need you to," Lavi broke off as his breathing hitched and tears started dripping down his cheek. Allen's eyes were fluttering and he was shaking like an internal earthquake erupted beneath his bones.

"Make it," Allen's words were weak through heaving breaths, "stop." Lavi looked helplessly at him and pulled his stoic body into an uneasy embrace. Allen still didn't respond to his touch and was completely disconnected to reality at this point. Something was terribly wrong.

"What the hell did you do to him?!" Lenalee stomped over to Kanda and reared her hand back. She swung the back of her hand across his cheek with such force that he stumbled backward.

He held his cheek and looked at her wide-eyed; he didn't have an answer. "What did you do?!"

"I didn't do anything!" He yelled back and grabbed her hand before she could hit him again.

"Make it stop! Make it stop! Make it stop!" Kanda and Lenalee winced as Allen started shrieking again. Lavi was shaking him while trying to comfort him, unable to come up with any other solution.

Lenalee sobbed into a stunned Kanda's chest. "Why is this happening? Why," she whispered as her tears stained his shirt.

Kanda couldn't feel anything; there was a wall between him and the reality surrounding him. He felt numb, maybe because he didn't know what was happening, or maybe because he knew what happened before. Allen said he was fine out on the balcony. That's when he should've known something was wrong.

He'd finally gotten the nerve to kiss him, after an entire day of his collapsed lungs and chest pains just at the sight of him. But when it came right down to it, he couldn't go through with it. Allen would've been disgusted; he shouldn't even be feeling something as stupid as this. Stupid was the only word he could think to describe himself as; he owed Allen a major apology that would probably never happen. Damn it.

He jumped over the couch to follow Allen when he ran off, leaving a confused Lenalee and Lavi looking over their shoulders at the empty room. After finally getting the balcony door unlocked, he realized now that he watched Allen slowly lose it but didn't register what was going on during that moment. They were arguing, the usual back and forth, but was only now that Kanda realized the poisonous words that was coming out of his own mouth.

Suddenly the screaming stopped, and Lenalee rushed over to sit by Lavi.

"Did he pass out?" Lenalee bent her head down to look at his face. She shrieked and Lavi mouthed out a holy shit as he let go of Allen in shock. Kanda rushed over and looked at his collapsed figure. There was blood dripping out of his shut eyes, and he wouldn't stop shaking and convulsing.

"Go get a towel," Kanda said and picked his limp body up so that he could rest Allen's head on his lap. Lenalee was visibly mad that Kanda was near Allen, but decided to put aside her anger for a better time.

"Now is a funny time to suddenly care about him," She muttered. He silently agreed, but didn't say anything in response.

"He's fucking freezing, get a blanket, too," Kanda yelled as Lavi went running off down the stairs.

Allen was finally starting to look more peaceful, save for the blood staining his face. His pale complexion mirrored the weather outside, and Kanda ran his hand through his hair as Lenalee rubbed his back. He felt instinctively protective over his frail figure, but wasn't sure why. Nothing made sense when it came to him.

"What's happening to him?" Lenalee asked miserably through her cracked voice. "You were with him right before this happened, right?"

Kanda couldn't look at her teary eyed glance and kept his eyes on Allen.

"_Why the hell did you follow me," Allen mumbled as he saw Kanda appear on the balcony. Sitting on the railing, he had a blanket loosely hanging off his shoulders and a phone pressed against his cheek. He hadn't bothered to put the glove back on, and didn't seem to care anymore. _

_Kanda opened his mouth to speak, but snapped it shut before what he really wanted to ask could escape. Allen said something, but Kanda realized he was just talking on the phone. _

"_You're going to fall off the side of the railing if you sit like that," Kanda finally said, and leaned on the balcony next to him._

_Allen glanced over at him and then rolled his eyes, but it looked like a reaction at whoever he was talking on the phone with rather than Kanda. Assuming that he couldn't make things any worse, Kanda decided that the direct approach was his best option. _

"_Did you do it to yourself, you know, your hand? Why does it look like your necklace?" Shit. Kanda didn't know how to handle things like this; he just sounded rude. He just wanted Allen to trust him enough to tell him, but Allen didn't seem to trust anyone. _

"_When will you learn," Allen's fists tightened up and so did his lips, "to leave me alone?"_

"_You can't keep avoiding the problem. Not an inch of you is ever uncovered; you're so embarrassed in your damn skin that you'd rather wear makeup then let people see your own face! Why can't you trust any of us? Maybe you don't want to trust me, fine. But what about Lavi and Lenalee? For someone who's willing to put his life on the line for all of us, why do you have such an unhealthy fear of the truth?"_

"_Fear of the truth, huh," Allen said quietly and stared off into space. "Maybe I do."_

"_Making vague statements with such a blank face makes you seem flippin' crazy sometimes, Allen. I really don't get what your problem is," Kanda muttered while staring at the moonlight shimmering on the snow. _

"_You think I'm straight up mental, don't you?"_

"_What the hell am I supposed to think?" Kanda's tone was harsh, but he really couldn't help it anymore. Trying to be passive aggressive with someone who created a storm beneath his skin seemed impossible; maybe he was the crazy one._

_Allen's face fell like the soft snowflakes settling on his shoulders, and the phone slipped out of his fingers. It hit the floor of the balcony quietly, suspended on a pile of snow. That's when he noticed it; something was wrong. There was an internal struggle flickering in his eyes and biting his lips. _

_"What's your point, Kanda?" _

_Kanda hadn't ever heard that tone in his voice before; it was emotionless and cold and terrifying. The cheeriness he once had evaporated, but so had the melancholy in his eyes; Allen didn't sound like himself. Maybe he'd gone too far this time. _

_Like a light switch, he hopped off the balcony and his original hurt feelings from Kanda's words hid beneath a thin-lipped smile. The blanket he was once clutching slipped around his thin waist, and the moonlight illuminated half of his scarred face and left the other shadowed in the dark of the night sky. _

"_Does it give you some sort of satisfaction to know that I hate the way I look? Are you even sure you could handle the truth you're so desperate to find out? Do you need me to spell it out for you?" Allen grabbed the front of his jacket and pulled him in close, so close that their noses were touching. He leaned over to his ear and whispered softly, "What is it that actually you want from me?"_

_His smell was intoxicating and his warmth was worse; Kanda just stood there as Allen loosely let go of his jacket and stepped back. If he'd stayed a moment longer, Kanda probably kissed him right then. Allen held out his ungloved hand and he looked at the scar; the moonlight revealed how deep of an indent it made into his skin. There was a mark that was much deeper than the rest of the design, and if Kanda didn't know any better, he'd assume something impaled all the way through his hand. The scar was nothing like the one smeared on his cheek, however, and Kanda could tell that was a different event entirely._

"_Go ahead and say it, Kanda. Give me your best shot at describing how horrible it is; I doubt you'll be able to beat any of the other descriptions I've gotten," Allen said while glaring._

"_It's just a scar. It's not that bad," Kanda muttered while taking his eyes off of it. It scared him to think Allen was hiding things like this beneath his clothing. Allen crossed his arms and laughed in spite of his lie; apparently Kanda's fear was written all over his face. The laugh was hollow, almost as if it followed the curved insides of his ribcage before escaping to mock Kanda._

"_Scars are marks that something was once bad. Something that still is bad. Something you can't wash off or heal; they're a label printed on your skin that says there's something wrong here. And I did do this, Kanda. I'm the one who carved into my skin, and if I told you why, you'd understand why I keep to myself."_

_He reached over and touched Allen's hand; his fingertips were freezing and his skin was stretched a little too thin. Tracing the pattern, a sudden awareness of why Allen always insisted things weren't that bad came to him. Maybe they weren't really that bad compared to what has happened before._

_"Damn it, you're freezing," Kanda muttered and reached into his jacket pocket. He pulled off the glove he'd taken off earlier and slipped it back on to Allen's hand quietly. When he looked back up, Allen had the face of someone who'd just been punched in the gut. _

"_What's wrong?" Allen's eyes widened and he fell weak at the knees; Kanda barely caught him before he toppled over into the snow piled up on the sides of the porch._

"_Fine- I'm fine," He said through heavy breathing, but Kanda didn't think he could stand back up._

_And then he started screaming._

"Snap out of it!" Kanda looked up at Lenalee, who was extremely worried.

"What? What's wrong?" He felt a strange feeling in the air; something wasn't right. There was a crash downstairs, but before Kanda could get worried, Lavi came charging back up with supplies.

"Does it feel weird around here to you guys?" Lavi said suspiciously as he started delicately wiping off Allen's face with a damp towel. Chills were running up and down his spine, but there was nothing inherently wrong. The house was empty, except for the three, and had a toasty and inviting atmosphere.

"Wait," Lenalee froze and looked around, "do you hear that?"

Lavi and Kanda looked around the room, but didn't hear anything out of the ordinary. The heater kicked on and scared them all.

"It was just the heater, Lenalee," Lavi said nervously and tried to wrap the blanket on Allen.

"Here," Lenalee took the blanket and did it correctly, leaving him resting on Kanda's thigh and covered up in the warm comforter. There was a voice in the room, soft and subtle; Kanda didn't recognize the voice, and he snapped his head to look behind him.

"I heard it that time, Lenalee," Kanda said warily, and she grabbed onto his shoulder in fear.

"I'm still not hearing anything, you guys-" Lavi yelped and started brushing off his shoulder furiously as if there were bugs all over the side of his sweater.

"This is so not fucking cool!" Lavi stood up and swirled around, looking for anything and everything for an explanation.

Kanda felt a tug on the end of his hair and shuddered while looking behind him. There was a dark shadow, only for a split second, looking back at him with a wide black grin and bright eyes. Apparently Lenalee saw it too, because she pointed behind Kanda and screamed.

"Hold Allen while I get Mugen," Kanda yelled and touched Allen to move him. Suddenly his vision was inverted; blacks where whites should be, warm colors switching with cool colors. There were people everywhere; no, he wouldn't even call them people. He jerked his hands off of Allen and for the split second he was looking at him, he saw the dark aura attached to his eye.

"Shit!" Kanda jumped up to get his sword, and it was obvious they weren't alone in the room anymore. Allen fell to the floor with a dull thud, but Kanda ran over to his bed to grab the glinting metal behind the nightstand.

"Don't just drop Allen!" Lenalee yelled indignantly, and tried to pick him up. Before Kanda could warn her, she screamed and dropped him, too.

Kanda was starting to see the figures, even when he wasn't touching Allen, and jumped in front of Lenalee with his sword unsheathed.

"What's up with you guys?" Lavi came in close and looked at them both like they were crazy. Of course, when he tried to prop Allen up too from the embrace of the hardwood floor, he got the bigger picture.

"Back off," Kanda hissed as the figures materialized and started crowding in on the four. They were loud, groaning and moaning and crying out in pain. He winced as he could start making out their decaying features; their skin hung as if it was safety-pinned at the joints and many of their bones were slipping out from the rotting shells.

A little girl came up to Kanda, with a smile that sickened the very pit of his stomach. She was held together with thin red string; none of her limbs seemed to want to stick together. Her face was painted like a porcelain doll, with a bloodied and torn lace dress donning her small figure. Blush accented her translucent skin and black streaks ran down from her eyes.

"All," she stopped as she fumbled over the next syllable, "len? Where is he?"

She tugged at his pants, as he stood there shocked and stunned. She just said Allen's name.

"Kanda!" He turned around and saw a ghost, so deteriorated that it barely even resembled a human, going after Lenalee; this one with a much more devious intent than the little girl. He swung his sword directly at its head, but his sword cut through it as if it were smoke.

"Are they illusions?" Kanda swung into the people crowding the room; their figures slightly disturbed but returned to the same shadowy frames. He stepped in front of Lenalee and the ghost's touch burnt his arm from where he blocked the attack; they were causing real enough pain to not be make-believe.

"I don't know man, but whatever the hell it is, I'm not buying it," Lavi yelled as he ducked beneath a punch.

"If we can't fight, what are we supposed to do?" Lenalee tried to protect Allen, who was completely defenseless in his unconscious state.

Downstairs, there was a loud crash that almost sounded as if the blizzard kicked the door in with an icy foot.

"We can't handle any more visitors, come again later!" Lavi yelled frantically down the stairs.

There was the slamming of feet up the stairs and Kanda cursed.

"Let me through, half-wits!"

"Who the hell-" A boy in a striped scarf skidded beneath the impending ghosts and next to Allen. He somehow managed to slide beneath all of them without getting a scratch on him, but was stopped by an angry Lenalee.

"Great job, you guys!" He yelled angrily and looked at Allen in concern.

"A Noah?" Lenalee was supremely confused and trying to block him from reaching Allen.

Lavi and Kanda looked behind them at her words in shock, but the skin color was unmistakable. Kanda hadn't met this one, but he apparently knew Allen.

"Lemme through, 'ya Vocaloid," Wisely said roughly and pushed past her.

"H-Hey!" Lenalee's embarrassed protests were ignored as the Noah ran his hand down Allen's shirt. Everyone looked around at each other in embarrassment for Allen and were at a loss for words. He felt around until they all heard a loud snap of a metal chain.

The Noah stood up and held the pendant above him, releasing a bright light and enveloping the entire room. When the light disappeared, the room was empty and silent once again. The hordes of ghosts silently faded, without another sound or movement to approach them. The Noah blew out a puff of air and the final ghost scattered like dust. The humming of the heater kicked on, and they all stared at the guy clutching the pendant while heaving out terrified breaths.

Lavi sighed in relief, but Kanda raised his sword at the kid bent over Allen. He paid no mind to Kanda's threatening blade and rested his ear on his chest.

"I gotta hand it to you," Lavi said while scratching at the back of his head, "that was a hell of an entrance."

"Who are you?" Lenalee asked, and took the pendant he dropped on the floor. She inspected it in curiosity, soon realizing that it was Allen's necklace.

The boy waited a moment, still listening for a heartbeat with his head pressed on Allen's chest, before looking up and around at the three. He tightened his scarf and sat criss-crossed on the floor next to Allen.

"Wisely," he said casually.

"I'm guessing Road and Tyki aren't here, then," he muttered as he glanced around the room.

"Want to tell us what the fuck is going on? Why are other Noah coming?" Wisely narrowed his eyes and pushed Kanda's blade away from his face with two fingers.

"If I just saved all your asses, I really don't think there's any need for you to be pointin' that dumb sword of yours at me," he yelled. Kanda scoffed, but lowered his blade and looked away. Wisely cocked his head to the side in curiosity and murmured, "I'd feel guilty, too."

Suddenly there was a loud boom downstairs and Wisely looked annoyed almost immediately.

"Well if this isn't it, then I give up!" Wisely rolled his eyes at the angered tone echoing from beneath them.

"Road, try to be a bit more decent."

"We need to get out of here, now," Kanda said sternly and Lavi nodded.

"Hold on, you idiots, the last thing we need to do is to move him," Wisely said as the pair jumped at him.

"Wisely!" Road ran over to the Noah and wrapped her arms around his neck lovingly. He smiled a bit but then shook her off and looked over at Tyki, who was unamused and matching the glare that Kanda was sending his way.

Lavi started laughing at the ridiculous situation and then asked, "How the hell did you guys find this place?"

"Ugh, it was such a big deal. We started at the school dorms, and got totally lost. But then, Wisely's scent suddenly picked up, and I opened up a door that led all the way out here. What's wrong with you guys, seriously? This is so out of the way," Road said while rolling her eyes.

"Is he dead, or not, Wisely," Tyki said surly, and took a step towards him. Kanda raised his sword in Tyki's direction and he stopped, knowing that Kanda's temper was clouding his rational thoughts at this point.

"He's got a heartbeat, and he's breathin'. That doesn't mean shit though. I'm getting a headache from even being near him; his thoughts are moving a mile a minute."

The three Noah continued on their conversation and Lenalee, Kanda, and Lavi looked at each other in disbelief. They were totally being left out; worse, the Noah knew more about Allen's condition even before they got here.

"I give up on trying to understand what's going on," Lavi said as he looked at the three hovering over Allen and back at the other two.

"How did they know about Allen? And why'd that guy save us?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Kanda glared in their direction. "It's their fault that Allen's like this; they knew because they're involved."

Kanda stood up and sauntered over to where the three were whispering quietly; they abruptly stopped and stared up at him.

"What the hell did you do to him?"

"Wasn't our fault, you pissy idiot," Road barked back. Tyki was crouched by Allen and lightly placed his hand on his forehead, only to pull it back while shaking out his burning hand.

"Take your hands off him," Kanda said and held his sword at Tyki's nose.

"You're one to talk, aren't 'cha?" Wisely cracked a smile in Kanda's direction and Kanda could hide his shock fast enough.

"The guy reads minds, so I'd be a bit more careful with your thoughts," Road said while grinning at Wisely's implications and Kanda's blush.

"We don't have time for childish antics, mister samurai. If we have any chance of bringing Allen back with his personality intact and not," Wisely stopped and winced at some unknown thought, "I mean, if you want to Allen to wake up and still be Allen, you're going to have to calm down and let me handle this."

"Give me one reason to trust you," Kanda said, still holding his sword at Tyki.

"I just saved all your lives, didn't I?"

"Kanda, we don't have any other option, do we? This is something way out of our control, and if they've got a solution, I say we go for it," Lavi said and put a hand on the hilt of his blade.

"I agree with Lavi," Lenalee said, but still glowered at the three leaning over Allen's unconscious body.

"Besides, I'd rather put my trust in them rather than you right now," she added darkly and walked over to the three.

"Do I sense some internal troubles within the three musketeers?" Lenalee looked at Road, and then back at Kanda.

"Forget it. We need to help Allen now," she said and started lightly running her hand through his hair.

Road laughed at her tone and then said, "I'm still a little surprised you're alive. You Order folk have the tenacity of cockroaches, I'll give you that."

"Alrighty!" Wisely stood up and took a nice long stretch. He tightened his scarf and stomped his sandal down on the wooden floor. A giant eye opened beneath his foot, with a dark presence that sent chills running up and down Kanda's body. The lights in the room flickered, and the excess fabric from his scarf floated up from the release of power. The eye was dark, with an even darker pupil that seemed to stare straight through his mind. He looked away in disgust, and Wisely gave a haughty scoff.

"I'm going in and gonna have a look around," Wisely stated as he sat down on the eye. It began glowing beneath him.

"Go in where?" Lavi questioned and took a better look at the eye beneath him in curiosity.

Tyki looked concerned and asked, "Wait, all by yourself? I'm not sure that's the best way to handle this."

"Don't follow me, unless you think you can handle dragging yourself through hell itself. If Allen starts freaking out because a bunch of strangers can't keep their shit together in his head then you could do some serious nerve damage. So," he closed his eyes and grinned, "catch 'ya losers on the flip side!"

There was a bright flash, and Wisely disappeared entirely.

"He's serious if he's taking his physical body in with him," Tyki murmured and then looked over at the terrified three.

"Is no one going to tell us what's going on?" Lenalee cried out. She was beyond exasperated; nothing made sense at this point.

"We're going in to Allen's subconscious and trying to see if we can drag him out of there. Sheryl," Road looked sullen, "another Noah, manipulated Wisely and basically snapped Allen's head in half. Apparently Wisely was looking around in Allen's head and couldn't find his way out quick enough, so every nerve he had in his head just," she closed her fists in front of her face and opened them back up to imitate an explosion, "Boom."

Tyki didn't stay for the rest of the conversation and stepped into the circle; another bright flash went off and his body disappeared, too.

"You three just stay here; we'll handle this," Road said and sauntered over to the circle with her parasol hanging loosely over her shoulder.

"Like hell we're letting three Noah try to help him," Kanda yelled and jumped into the circle without a second thought.

Road gave a hiss of annoyance and looked over her shoulder over the other two.

"Don't be rash idiots like him; somebody is definitely going to have to stay behind just in case something goes wrong. Cheers," Road gave a wave and stepped in, slipping into the abyss.

"I'm not," Lenalee was fighting back tears, "I'm sick of being useless! I'm going on there!"

"Lenalee, you're the best suited to take care of him out here," Lavi replied quietly.

"Please," she grabbed him by the shoulders, "please let me do this." Lavi pulled her into an embrace, and patted the back of her head.

"Okay," he said quietly. "I'll hold down the fort here. But don't do anything rash, alright?"

Lenalee slowly left his arms and stood in front of the circle while staring in. The eye was dimming, letting her know that she only had a few seconds to decide whether or not to jump in.

"Have fun storming the castle," he said and smiled. She nodded her head with determined look on her face and stepped in.

* * *

"Hmmm? Didn't expect to see you here, Miss Lee," Road said in distaste.

"Don't be dead weight, or else I'll kick you out," Wisely said while narrowing his eyes at her.

"Say another word," Kanda stepped closer to Road, "and I'll rip that throat of yours out."

"Still a little sore from losing to me? I still can't believe you two are still alive in the first place," Road murmured and then shot an accusatory glare at Tyki. He shrugged and pretended like he had nothing to do with the skeleton key he gave Allen.

"If you stir up trouble, I'll kick you out too, Road. You guys shouldn't have even followed me in."

Kanda looked around; it wasn't at all what he expected. They'd been transported to a city, one Kanda didn't recognize. It was lightly raining, and the cobblestone streets were lined with houses that almost looked as if they were made of melting wax. The windows contained dim yellow lights that reflected a warm glow onto the street beneath them.

"London," Wisely said to answer their communal thoughts.

Kanda looked up at the sky and saw the twinkling stars against an indigo backdrop. It was so realistic that Kanda had the urge to ask if they really were inside Allen's head. However, the moon was far too big to even be considered real; it took up most of the sky above them and almost looked like it was going to crash into the city. It's craters were highlighted against the muddy yellow; Kanda tore his gaze away from it's uncomfortable closeness.

"Where do we even start to look?" Lenalee started peeking around the alleyways between the tall apartments and shops.

"I spent a whole day asking myself that. Come on, come on, I know which way to go," Wisely said while waving his hand to encourage the stragglers to hurry up.

Road and Tyki were having a quiet conversation, completely ignoring everyone else. Kanda couldn't help but to feel nauseous at the idea of them working together; maybe there would be a chance to ditch them altogether.

"Stop!" Wisely yelled and was on his tiptoes as if he were looking over a cliff. There was nothing out of the ordinary; he was just standing in the middle of the street.

"What's wrong?" Road asked and ran over to where he was standing.

"See this," Wisely crouched over and daintily gripped something in front of his shins, "look closely."

They all leaned in and got a closer look; Kanda didn't see anything at first, but when he tilted his head the light hit the ground at the right angle. A thin, hair like wire was strung across the street, suspended only a couple of inches above the stones on the street.

"What is it?" Kanda asked and reached out to touch the thread.

"A memory," Wisely said as he let go of the string and looked up at them.

"You guys need to start treading lightly from now on; setting off memories will start to wear you down. The farther we get in," he carefully stepped over the wire, "the worse the memories would be. I know where most of the bad ones are, but only as far as I got in. If you trip and break the string, you'll be sent straight into a subconscious memory of Allen's. There are lots of different things that set off memories, too, not just the wires. So don't go touching things like a kindergartener."

"Sounds like a bad idea to touch these things, then, " Road said and flattened her parasol so that she could hover on it like a broomstick.

"Some triggers are above, and some triggers are below. Just try your best to not be a clumsy idiot," Wisely said and watched them all carefully step over the wire before continuing on.

They all continued down the street and alleyways in silence, following Wisely's lead as he pointed out wires and things to avoid. It felt like it'd already been an hour before they stood in front of a large, towering building.

"This is the," Lenalee stopped as her eyes followed the building up until she nearly broke her neck.

"English Branch of the Order, correct?" Wisely said and crossed his hands behind his head while sauntering up the stairs.

The building was a brilliant white and stuck out from the rest of the gloomy, brick buildings crowding against it. It had glass paneling all the way up, almost like a skyscraper in New York. From the outside, it reminded Kanda of the buildings packed with offices and dismal busybodies.

"Why are we here," Kanda asked gruffly.

"I'm assuming this is the root of Allen's worst memories, correct? Where we're going to find him, at least," Tyki said quietly as he peered through the glass of the building.

"What happened to your usual cocky attitude?" Kanda asked. He crossed his arms and looked at Tyki's apathetic glance in his direction. Tyki didn't even bother with a response and came up to the door.

"A bit under the weather, perhaps," he murmured as he peered through the glass.

"This is where they're most concentrated, at least. I don't know much else," Wisely said and pulled on the door handle. It gave in after a few tries, and he sauntered his way through the security checkpoint.

"Ladies first," Tyki said and waved for Lenalee and Road to go in. Lenalee had trouble fighting against the pure awkwardness of the situation and carefully followed after the girl perched on her parasol. Road stuck a tongue out at Tyki, and Lenalee hid her face as she shuffled in after Road.

They all jumped over the security counter and played limbo to avoid a wire hanging across the metal detector. Kanda didn't like the eerie silence the building had, or the piercing bright lights that illuminated every dark corner. After making it through the obstacle course, they all divided up into the large space ahead.

The first room they stepped into was reminiscent of a hotel lobby; it had a front desk straight ahead and a large lounging room over to the left. There was an elevator and a stairwell, as well as doors leading farther back into the first floor. It was all a bright white, although all the furniture was either platinum or a dull grey. The lack of color was unnerving; in fact, the entire building was void of heat and color.

He noticed that the glass walls were one-way mirrors; he could see the street outside through the dim glass.

"Someone needs to teach you Order folk how to decorate," Road said as she looked around the empty building.

"Where to, now?" Lenalee was afraid to walk around, in fear that she might accidentally trip over something she shouldn't.

"Up. Don't touch the elevator, I already learned that it's a deathtrap," Wisely said as he scanned the room for anything suspicious. Kanda walked over to the stairwell and tested the handle. The door swung open, even though his hand only lightly grazed the handle.

"Shit, don't open that!" Wisely yelled frantically, but it was too late. There was an audible snap that rang through the deserted building; a memory wire on the other side of the door broke when he opened it.

_Blood. The metallic, salty, sickly smell was all he could taste. Lots of yelling from above._

_I was looking up the stairwell, and grimaced at all the blood cascading down the steps. Going to get in trouble._

_Tried the door handle; wouldn't budge. Damn it. Looked down; hospital gown was now a deep red. Deep, dark, rich maroon dripping down the fabric and pooling up in front of the door. Held my stomach to try to put some pressure on the wound. Maybe someone on the other side of the metal entrance would see the blood draining underneath and open the door. _

_I can't hold myself up anymore. There was a loud thud and the stairwell echoed out the noise. The floor is cold; I'm cold. Hazy vision; everything is red. Did I slip in the blood? My hair is soaking wet. Must've slipped and fallen in the blood. Going to get in trouble. _

_Someone's here, I can see their shadow over me. They grabbed a fistful of my hair and pulled me back up off the floor. Yelling, but I can't tell what they're saying. Doesn't matter. _

Kanda suddenly snapped back into reality and realized he was on his hands and knees. He looked, horrified, into the stairwell. It was pristine and sparkling clean.

He looked over at everyone else; Wisely was the only one still standing. Even Tyki was crouching; Road had fallen to her knees and had a blank, empty look in her eyes.

"She's still stuck in the memory," Wisely said quietly and sauntered over to Road. He put a hand on her shoulder and whispered something in her ear; she snapped out of her trance and looked around the room, wide-eyed and fearful.

Kanda looked around for Lenalee and realized she was collapsed on the floor, but out of the memory. She was shaking her head and fighting back tears when he came over to comfort her, but she just slapped his hand away.

"I'm fine," she said sternly and stood up despite her shaky legs.

"Okay, let's all play the listen to what Wisely says game! Now, when I say don't touch something without my approval," Wisely looked supremely pissed off, "do not fucking touch it. Are we all on the same page?"

Kanda pursed his lips and nodded, along with the rest of the group.

"I'm taking the lead from now on, got it? Don't you dare split up on me; I'm not going to find you," Wisely said as they regrouped.

He looked in the stairwell and squinted before pointing at the hand railing. "Don't touch it; it'll pick up where the last memory left off. By the way," he turned and saw the sullen group behind him, "that memory was particularly weak; notice how choppy and confusing it was? It's a stale one that's falling apart. In a year, it'll be long forgotten and won't exist. If you can't handle that, then get out now. It's only going to be a couple of floors before we're in uncharted territory and I don't know the triggers."

"I'm going to find Allen, no matter what," Lenalee said firmly. Kanda nodded, and Road agreed to stick around.

"I'm sure I've seen worse. Come on, Wisely, let's get moving," Tyki said.

Wisely shrugged his shoulders and started skipping up the steps. They followed the tall staircase up, winding up and around. They had to dance around wires, and then certain steps altogether. Kanda looked out the windows and realized they'd climbed up so high that they were on par with the moon. Wisely came to an abrupt stop and led them through a safe door. "We have to cross hallways to avoid a real stinger on the next part of the staircase. That's where I lost it last time."

Kanda looked around and realized this floor was a hospital ward. There were rooms that didn't look like hospital rooms, but actual housing units. He looked behind him at the doorplate; this was the Mental Ward. It was an interior hall that had no windows, and definitely looked more rundown than the rest of the building. They continued down the long hall and came across a large gathering room. There wasn't much in there except for some furniture and a TV.

"And if you look to your left," Wisely gave his best attempt at a tour guide's voice, "you will see where Allen's room was."

There was a door slightly cracked open, and the insides were dark. However, the correct lighting showed a spiderweb of different memory wires, all tangled and thick. They quickly passed by, not wanting to get anywhere near that space. The florescent lights above were starting to flicker; one above them burst and Kanda flinched as the sparks fell into the dim hall.

Wisely gave out a miserable sigh and muttered, "You people are so lucky you didn't have to wade through the memories on this floor. This is as far as I got on my second try, and I only set off the first snippet of the memory in here."

"Are they divided up or something? I mean, the memories?"

"Oh," Wisely realized he'd forgotten to tell them something, "Yeah, each wire or trap is just a small part of the memory. Back in the stairwell, the hand railing picks up where the first one we set off stopped, and so on and so forth. Although, some are just stand alone memories. I've never been in somewhere as complicated as this, to say the least."

They jumped, ducked, and weaved their way through all the wires and eventually stopped in front of another door. The door was worn, and all the tiles beneath their feet were worn and dirty. It was the direct opposite of the other side of the clean hall; even the lighting on this side was giving out. They were well over halfway up the building at this point, and finding Allen shouldn't take all that long, but KAnda feared for the rest of the building. Wisely looked at the handle, and then brought his hand up to his mouth, lost in thought.

"What's wrong?" Kanda asked. He was on edge; this whole floor made him feel nauseous.

"This is definitely gonna set something off," Wisely murmured. Upon closer inspection, Kanda noticed the thin wires tightly wound around the handle; if they turned it, all the wires in the room would snap all at once.

"Should we head back to the other staircase? We have no idea what's going to happen," Lenalee suggested. So far, they'd only tripped over little memories that were painful, but not too horrifying, according to Wisely.

"But that would waste all the time it took to get over here," Road pouted.

The little pieces revealed that Allen spent some time here, but they hadn't come across a reason as to why. Kanda almost considered tripping over some wires just for answers, but Wisely glared at him when the thought crossed his mind and mentally told him that he would get a swift kick of the sandal right up his ass.

Suddenly a light bulb went off in Road's head and she snapped in Tyki's direction. "Pass through the door, would you? Then you can open it from the inside!"

"What if both handles are wired?" Her face soured as Wisely rained on her parade.

"It's better than nothing," Road said while squinting at the handle.

He stepped right through the door as if it was wide open and then disappeared. Muffled but still understandable, Tyki's voice came through the other side of the door. "I'm opening it now."

There was a period of silence, and then the door swung open. Bracing for impact, everyone shut their eyes tightly and waited. It only took a couple of seconds to realize that there was nothing coming, and let out a communal sigh of relief. Wisely cheerfully passed through the doorway, but the second his foot stepped on the other side of the entrance the air distorted.

"It wasn't the door handle, it was the entrance itself. The damn tricky bastard," Wisely said in disbelief as he fell to his knees. Kanda watched as all the wires around the room broke, one setting off the next and so on as the trap went farther back. Snapping in rapid-fire like gunshots, the noise of the wires breaking filled up the hollow fall and Kanda covered his ears.

"Shit," Road held her head in her hands, "Is it gonna be a whole memory and not just the little bits and pieces? We just set off the whole damn floor!"

Kanda's head was spinning and he fell to his knees. Lenalee fell too, and clutched her head in her hands.

"Don't lose yourselves, remember," Wisely said weakly.

_It was snowing, maybe for the third time this winter. Allen looked out the window quietly and watched the street lamps way below flicker on. People were parading through the streets like they always did on holidays; they all looked so carefree and happy._

_There was a knocking on the door, and he looked over his shoulder at the door, then back at the window. The door opened anyway, and Allen pretended not to notice._

"_Eh, Allen? You really gonna stay cooped up in your room even after they 'letcha off the hook for last week?" _

_He didn't turn around; he hated the other kids in this place. It was always a battle between the patients to get anyone else in trouble. Maybe tormenting others was passed off as part of their mental disorders; Allen just assumed they were bored. _

"_It's Christmas, did you know that?" Suddenly the kid was in his ear, looking out the window next to him. He followed Allen's gaze and saw all the people in the street._

"_Buncha filthy bastards. Me and my bunkmate saved up a bunch of thumbtacks and were gonna throw them off the roof on 'em, but that damn bitch found them under my bed. These nurses just love to ruin our fun, huh?" Allen didn't respond; that was usually the best option when he didn't know what to say to their twisted ideas of fun. _

_The boy flicked Allen on the forehead and said, "Those meds really turned you into a space cadet, didn't they? Me and my bunk mate didn't mean to get you in so much trouble, really."_

"_My bunk mate and I," Allen corrected quietly without looking at him. _

"_So you're still a little bent over what happened." The boy rested his face on his hand and sighed while looking at Allen. _

"_Rumor has it that you were born on this lame ass holiday." Allen didn't understand why he kept trying to make conversation._

"_You got me locked up for three days. Piss off already," Allen said in a bored tone. _

"_So he finally speaks! I said I was sorry, didn't I? Come out and join everyone in the rec room. Wasting your free time staring out a window is what geezers do," the boy whined and pulled on Allen's arm. _

_He accidentally saw this kid's file once; the people checked him in with Borderline Personality Disorder. One second he's at your throat; the next he wants you to help him build a tower with building blocks. _

"_I'd rather not," Allen mumbled, but was pulled out of the room by an all too cheery kid. _

"_Look who's back from the SC Ward!" The kid presented Allen and he glared dismally at the other kid's snickering faces. Getting him sent to solitary confinement was a favorite pastime of these nutcases._

"_See any ghosts in there, Allen?" He didn't register the comment and blinked a couple times to regain his bearings. The bright lights always burnt for a day or two after sitting in the dark for so long._

_The room was painted an obnoxious white and smelled like bleach; the janitors had to clean it all the time. No one was really sure how, but the kids always seemed to find something to dirty up the room. Whether it was a weapon or saved juice, they managed to destroy the white paint time after time. A couple of couches lined the space, and there was a TV perched high up on the wall so none of the kids could mess with it. The room was empty and barren except for a table, the furniture, and a warm rug; it also didn't have a door, but a wide entrance. But it was for a good reason; the kids got nasty when left unattended._

_Of course, on Christmas, most of the attendants left early to be with their families. Most of the workers quit after a couple of weeks, unable to handle the kids here or what went on behind closed doors. No one had a name here; none of them existed on any government file. Allen gave himself his own name, but the rest of them went by nicknames. Someone tried to get "Scarface" to stick, but not enough kids had seen the movie to get the joke to stick. _

_A kid was lying upside down on the couch and glaring at the TV. "This room is so boring now! Who gives a fuck about a reindeer?" _

_They'd lost basketball privileges in the room yesterday, much to Allen's relief; he still had bruises from the damned thing. Coloring privileges were lost a week earlier; one kid swallowed a crayon and another stabbed his bunkmate with a colored pencil. Allen didn't sleep with anyone else, because apparently he was too unstable. He didn't buy it. _

_They were just trying to cover up all the times they'd taken him in for testing and other strange experiments in the middle of the night; he never remembered them by the next morning, but he was sure they'd happened. There were lots of documents in his files that had stamps on them to mark the times the tests were taken, and most of them were from twelve to four in the morning. He couldn't understand what any of it meant; he didn't want to. _

_He sat down in an empty chair and glanced at the TV; it was playing some stupid movie once again. He wanted to go back to sleep._

"_The birthday boy doesn't look so happy," the boy said and leaned over to look at him. He pinched his cheeks and tried to force him to smile, but Allen slapped his hands away._

"_Knock it off already you arse," Allen said and rolled his eyes._

"_You bein' cheeky with me? Does the Nancy boy want to fight?" As always, he regretted leaving his room._

"_You're a real twit, you know that," Allen muttered as he stalked off. They weren't allowed to have locks on their doors, but he was sure they wouldn't follow him. Everyone was convinced he was one of the real psychos here, but it was probably just his appearance. He was the only one with a head on his shoulders._

_Spending time with crazy people really makes you realize that you're sane. _

_He slammed his door and sat up on the windowsill. He dozed off while looking at the warm lights that lined the streets. It only took a few minutes for his door to come flying open and something whizzed past his head. He ducked in time but heard his window crack from the impact. When he lifted his head to look at what was thrown at him, he felt fear crawl up his throat. _

"_You like it? I nicked it off a nurse the other day," the same boy from earlier came skipping over and pushed Allen out of the way to dislodge his new weapon from the window. How the hell he got a hold of a scalpel knife, Allen didn't know, but he didn't like where this was going. He backed away from the window and bumped into someone behind him. He didn't know his name, but the kid was twice his height and a mute. Gigantism, he believed, was the right term for his condition._

"_You're really good with carving things, right, Allen?"_

"_Get out of my room," Allen said menacingly._

"_You won't tell anyone if I try to do it? Scars are so wicked man. I want one just like yours, except maybe a skull instead of a star," he said while giving Allen a thumbs up._

"_I really don't care," Allen said with a sigh, "just don't do it in my room."_

"_Wasn't planning on it. How old are you turning this year?" _

"_Don't know," Allen muttered and watched them both exit the room._

"_I think you're about nine. You're pretty short though, so I think eight is a good number. It's a pretty number to write, don't you think?"_

"_Just brill," Allen said sarcastically._

"_Come on, come on, don't waste your life in your room." The boy grabbed Allen's arm and he tried to shake him off, but the much taller boy helped him pull Allen out of his room. "H-Hey! Let go of me!"_

"_Who wants to play the birthday game!" The boy shouted while twirling the knife around in his small fingers. Some of the kids still in the rec room cheered. Allen tried to pull himself free but was being dragged along the slippery, clammy floor. _

"_Here's how we play, Allen," The kid who was dragging him suddenly let go and the other pushed him down on the couch. "Don't get up for a second while we pick the rules."_

_The group of kids huddled on the other side of the room and talked while the mute giant stared Allen down. _

"_Okay! Thigh it is! You two," he snapped at his bunkmate and the giant, "come help me hold him down."_

_Before Allen could protest, one of them hand his hand over his mouth and the other held down his chest. The boy pulled up the side of Allen's gown and clicked his tongue as if he were trying to make a decision._

"_You have really pretty skin, you know that? It's like snow," the boy said. He spun the knife around in his free hand and then pressed the blade gently against the skin. It only stung a little at first, with blood barely escaping the crack in his skin. He made a figure eight pattern, slowly and deliberately. _

_He barely even scratched the skin, much to Allen's relief. He put the handle of the blade in his mouth, much like an artist does with their paintbrush, and cocked his head to the side. _

"_Okay, the outline is ready!" Outline. Allen felt like vomiting. _

_Treating the knife like an Epipen, he plunged the blade into his skin. _

"_God, keep him quiet already. It's too hard to concentrate with his sissy screams," the boy said while rolling his eyes. The hand on Allen's mouth clamped down harder; he couldn't breathe anymore._

"_We did this to Shark like, a month ago. He didn't complain, in fact, he's pretty proud of it. So calm down already 'ya queer." Allen looked at the kid with dull eyes that everyone called Shark; he held up his wrist while grinning with pointed teeth. It had a very red seven carved into it; Allen remembered watching them do with a nail they pulled from one of the bed frames. It looked infected at this point and was swollen up in an angry, puffy fury. Was this his punishment for not stopping them?_

_The sickening noises the knife made as it tore through his pale skin made the kid laugh. Others came over to watch and one finally said, "You totally went off track. It looks like a nine."_

"_I'm not finished!" He yelled back in embarrassment._

"_That's so uneven, dude. Get Edgar to show you how; isn't he the one who cut up his little sister?" They sent a messenger down the hall to go see if Edgar was awake. _

_Edgar was a couple of years older than all the other boys and barely spoke. Apparently he was awake, because his stalky figure stumbled down the hall to see what all the kids were up to. His hair was way too long, and his glasses were barely visible; the thin frames desperately tried to create a wall between his dark glare and the outside world. _

"_This is disgusting," he said as he looked at Allen's bleeding leg. He took the knife from the boy and bent down to next to Allen._

"_You went in too deep at first and now it's all jagged. Here," he tilted the knife backwards and picked up where the other kid left off. With a flick of the wrist, he shaped it into a figure eight. Somehow he managed to go deeper but still keep the knife steady as it curved to finish the number. Allen wanted to scream, wanted to do anything to get away, but his lungs wouldn't work and the pain was drowning out any rational thought. _

"_That looks much better, thanks, Edgar!" The boy said and held his hand out to take the knife back._

_The older boy looked up from his glasses, and then back at all the blood. He was shaking, and lightly ran his finger against Allen's thigh. It made a thick line through the blood, but it only took seconds for more to cover the skin showing. The thick blood dripped from his fingertip and pattered on the floor below, joining up with the dark streams falling from the wound. His usual, aloof nature changed; a wicked smile came over his face. He gripped the blade tightly and started slashing with reckless abandon at Allen's leg. The kids holding him down screamed and let go of Allen._

"_Edgar, man, stop! It's just a joke!" He didn't listen and continued cutting; they all made noises of disgust. No one got in his way to stop him, afraid that he might turn on them. _

_"He's gone fuckin' mental!" __Allen could feel it all, flinching as the blade unzipped his skin. His voice was broken and his will to scream was crumbling. He blinked and shook his head to try to clear his vision, but was too dizzy and weak to see much at all. There was blood all over Edgar's face, smeared and speckled against his pale complexion. Allen realized there was blood on his own face, too, when he felt something dripping down his cheek._

"_Nurse! Nurse! Edgar's lost it! I think he stole a knife!" _

_The boy suddenly stopped as if he snapped out of a trance and his face paled. He looked around at all the kid's horrified faces, and then at Allen. He took off his bloodstained glasses and blinked a couple of times, looking down at his bloody hands gripping the knife and then back at Allen's leg. The side of his hip down to his kneecap was torn up with uneven, deep gashes. _

_He wiped off his glasses with his white shirt, smearing blood on the reddened fabric. _

"_Do you think if you cut deep enough," Allen said weakly, "I might get to see my father again?"_

_Edgar put his glasses back on and looked at Allen in pity. "Do you think I could see my sister again, if I did?"_

_Some of the kids went running off screaming and howling. "Hey, bitch in the pink scrubs! A little help over here?"_

_"Don't refer to me like that you little monster!" Allen tuned out the argument out in the hall between the attendant and the boys yelling._

"_I wonder if either of them," Edgar held up the knife in front of his own face, "would even be happy to see us."_

"_Shit! Guys! Edgar is trying to-!"_

_Allen heard the noise, but didn't see it happen. _

_The next morning, he attended a funeral for Edgar. It hurt a lot to move, but he insisted on going. He got a copy of the newspaper article about the death of his sister; he cut her up into different pieces and then stitched her back up with red string. He painted up her face like a doll, and dressed her up in pretty lace. He was eight when it happened. _

_Allen remembered placing a flower on his grave. As he turned his back on the headstone, he decided Edgar wasn't one of the crazy ones._

* * *

***nervous laughter* yay for early updates….? I really don't want to end it there, but this chapter is already 10,000 words long. And that's probably enough mental scarring for one chapter.**

**Till next chapter!**

**(I'm really liking Wisely. Not sure why. And I might be totally off track with his character but it's not exactly like I've got a lot to work with in the first place. Tell me if its a yes or hell no when it comes to including him).**

**(I HIT 100 REVIEWS AND I MIGHT OR MIGHT NOT HAVE TEARED UP A LIL I LOVE YOU GUYS :) . IF YOU'RE ONE OF THOSE REVIEWERS WHO LEAVES ME SOMETHING FOR EACH CHAPTER JUST KNOW I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT AND TOTALLY DIG 'YA.)**


	15. Fear

_Allen remembered placing a flower on his grave. As he turned his back on the headstone, he decided Edgar wasn't crazy._

* * *

"Kanda, right? Isn't that his name, Tyki? Hey, buddy, come back!" He opened his eyes and saw Wisely hovering over him. There was the sound of someone puking; Kanda sat up from where he'd passed out and saw Lenalee holding her stomach.

Trying to change the subject, Road brightly asked, "Wait, what'd you get him for his birthday?"

"We didn't know it was his birthday," Lenalee said while wiping her mouth off. There were tears stinging the creases of her eyes, but she managed to hold them back.

Wisely looked at Lenalee, and then back at Kanda. Wisely grinned at in his direction, and then started laughing at Kanda's obvious anger. Don't do it.

"We, eh? I think someone knew," he said.

"Don't you know how to be respectful of other people, asshole?" Kanda yelled.

"I am respectful," Wisely protested as if his honor was challenged. "You just think too loudly."

"Right," Road said while grinning.

"What are you- wait," Lenalee put the pieces together and glared over at Kanda, "You knew it was his birthday?"

Kanda jumped up to his feet as she started to approach him and tried to stutter out an apology. He ended up backing up into the stairwell that was uncharted territory.

"Watch where you're walkin', dumbass!" Wisely shouted, but they all winced at the sound of a snap.

"Stupid exorcist!" Road hissed.

_It was storming. I am not alright, and I know it. Being thrown back into consciousness isn't easy._

Kanda had a grasp on his own thoughts during this memory and wasn't sure why. Was it because he was the one who snapped the wire? No, this didn't happen the first time, he remembered. After a couple of seconds, he realized that the setting was familiar. This was in Allen's house, back when he lived with Cross.

_The wall is the only thing keeping me up; I've got to stay conscious. Shit; everything is covered in blood. A boom of thunder, followed by a flash of lightning lights up the scene for only a couple of seconds. He hazily saw the glass and blood spilt everywhere. Is that mine? Ugh, it smells like sour wine down here. Wait. He smelled his clothes. It's just me. Man, how am I going to get the stains out of this?_

_I give up trying to figure this out; I need to get back to my room._

Kanda flinched every time Allen tripped trying to make it up the stairs; he was spilling blood everywhere. What the hell happened?

_Cross is praying. Did he just say Mana's name? Allen stumbled over and stole a closer look in his room, but backed away when he heard Cross stir._

The white washed walls were smeared with blood. Kanda followed behind Allen as he stumbled into his bedroom, and tried to catch him before he collapsed in the middle of the space. The hardwood was unforgiving, and there was a loud smack where he landed. Right, he reminded himself, this was just a memory, and he wasn't a welcome visitor.

_Why am I bleeding so much? He ran a hand through his hair, and when he pulled back his hand, the moonlight gave him an obvious answer. Everything was black and white and red. Why are my arms burning? He pulled up a sleeve and instantly dived into the bathroom at the sight._

Kanda felt his stomach turn over; this was the night he called. This was the night that he was talking to Allen. Allen's thoughts were getting sporadic as he realized what was going on.

_Not bad. It's fine. How could that bastard knock me over the head with a wine bottle? Shit, this isn't okay. This is bad, This is not fine. Oh god, Oh god. I can't stop throwing up._

_There was a chime, a little song coming out of his pocket. My phone is going off. I don't recognize the number._

That's my number on the screen. That's me.

_Instead of picking up, he looked at the wounds with the light and threw up again. Who's lucky caller number one? Bah, maybe I should forget it. Although, it could be important, it's not like I have anything to lose._

Kanda's own voice made him sick to his stomach. Allen was much more aware of his wounds than Kanda's voice.

_How did he get this number? Why the hell is he calling anyway? I should just hang up._

_His finger thumbed over the End Call button, but he hesitated. I ought to see what he wants. It's not like it matters anymore. He fell to the floor with a smack and put the phone next to him. Kanda's not my first choice in a listener of my last words, but it's not like I have much of a decision._

Kanda felt like he'd been slapped across the face as he realized that Allen gave up that night. He'd surrendered completely. And Kanda was oblivious, a stupid oblivious idiot. It truly looked as if he was dead as his eyes dimmed and the blood pooled up. The half of him laying on the floor was a deep red from laying in the blood. The bathroom was utterly silent. And then Kanda's voice cut through the air, snapping a small part of Allen back into reality.

Suddenly there was a strange figure in the room, one Kanda didn't recognize. He looked like a circus clown, but disappeared without an explanation. Memories of Lenalee, Lavi, and Kanda fluttered. Kanda watched him take care of the wounds like clockwork. And Kanda knew the words that came after; he remembered sitting in his dorm in the dark while staring at his phone in disbelief. _Goodnight, Allen._

_Goodnight, Kanda._

Kanda was on his knees when he realized he was back in the stairwell. Everyone else took a moment to come back; he watched them all reanimate and look over at him. Putting a hand to his forehead, he sighed and ignored their questioning glances. He wasn't giving any more backstory that Allen didn't want to add in himself.

Wisely let out a whistle in Kanda's direction. "Imagine if you hadn't called, huh? Fate sure is a bitch."

"Imagine if he hadn't been an idiot and gone over there," Road grumbled.

"Why was Cross performing a reverse exorcism? Why'd he need to go around the Earl? And to try to kill Allen," Tyki murmured. The other two Noah did a double take, not realizing the motive behind the abuse until Tyki said something.

He wasn't sure when Lenalee made her way over to him, but the slap that stung his face made him realize she was crying. She obviously put the pieces together pretty quickly and realized that this wasn't a one time thing; the memory vividly showed past bruises, too.

"You knew what was going on with Allen! You knew far before this, didn't you?" He didn't deny it.

"Why didn't you do something! Why did you," she was beating on his chest and sobbing, "Kanda, why didn't you help him?"

"What the hell was I supposed to do? I didn't even know him!"

"None of us knew him, did we? He never told us anything," Lenalee said with her voice trembling in anger. "But, that's no excuse! Do you know what I would've done if I were you? What about Lavi; do you think he would've just let this slide by? You're the worst!"

"I hate to interrupt, but we have some serious ground to cover. If you guys want out now, just say the word," Wisely said sternly. Lenalee and Kanda looked up and realized that the three Noah had already made it up the next set of stairs.

Lenalee shook her head in a firm no and scaled the stairs, avoiding the wires. Kanda silently followed after them.

"Shit," Wisely said as he looked up the next set of stairs. There was another spider web, much like the one in Allen's room.

"We're going to have to switch halls again," Wisely groaned. After taking care of the next handle, the group stepped into a new hallway. It was dim and not nearly as groomed as the lower floors.

"God, it reeks of blood and fuckin' corpses here," Road said while pinching her nose.

"Watch your language," Tyki said absent-mindedly.

"Who are you, Sheryl?" Road stopped her tongue a little too late and Wisely and Tyki looked at her with wide eyes.

"Sorry," she murmured and avoided them while hovering on her parasol. Kanda wasn't sure what was going on with the Noah, but it was comforting to know the strong front they put on was collapsing. If he organized a sting attack soon, they might stand a chance of taking them down. Recently they'd been planning an infiltration of the main Order building, but getting caught up in small outbreaks of innocence really put a damper on their priorities.

He really needed to get his priorities straight, too.

Brushing off his thoughts before Wisely could tune in, he looked around the disturbing hallway. There were bloody, child sized handprints lining the walls. On the floor beneath their feet, there were grotesque drawings in red and black ink that mimicked sidewalk chalk. Lenalee let out a high-pitched shriek and they all stopped to look at her. She was pointing into a corner of the hall while covering her mouth. There was a shadowy figure, propped up with a gaping white grin and eyes rolled in the back of its head. It started to move in a disjointed and disturbing symphony, as if all its limbs were popped out-of-place. Kanda put a hand on the hilt of his sword; the human took a while to get on its feet but was definitely covering ground.

"I was afraid of this. Hey, girl, did you happen to grab that necklace?" Lenalee fumbled around in her jacket pocket and found the glowing object. Wisely tore it out of her hands and held it out in front of him, much like he did when they'd first met.

The figure stopped and tried to back away, but burst into a bright light.

"Keep that out from now on, we are definitely going to need it." Wisely gagged a little at the sight of the strange, crawling figures.

"What are they?" Lenalee asked as the group continued their acrobatic stunts over to the other staircase.

"Physical manifestations of memories. Allen's head is very aware of a bunch of intruders at this point because we're getting more and more careless. Pick up the pace, we're almost to the top," Wisely said as they entered the next stairwell. He looked anxious and clung on tightly to the pendant while directing them around.

A couple more hideous figures jumped out from the shadows, startling them all. One climbed on the ceiling in an animalistic and disturbing display; Kanda only noticed when a black fluid dripped on his cheek from above. It's crooked grin sent shivers down his spine, and he narrowly dodged it's decent to attack him. He froze when it landed in front of him; something in him left his mind blank.

Lenalee stepped out with the necklace before it's clawing, blackened nails could sink into his skin. Thanking her, he continued, checking the ceiling for the crawling figures from now on. She didn't respond, and merely picked up the pace, leaving Kanda holding up the rear of the group.

For the most part, the necklace drove the monsters off so that they sat in the shadows, walking on hands and feet as close as possible to the group while staying out of the light. They grinned like madmen when Kanda glanced at them, and he pulled his gaze away as quick as possible.

As they made it to the next staircase, they thanked whatever deity was looking out for the unguarded handle of the door. They rounded each flight of stairs quickly, however, someone out of the group tripped over something or other. This staircase was full of gruesome tests that Allen himself wasn't aware of.

_It was dark; they'd all been sent to bed without dinner because of a big fight an hour before. Both of the boys were separated and ushered out of the ward, presumably to the SC section. Allen wasn't too familiar with it at the time, but the horror stories he'd heard from the other boys was enough to stir up pity for them._

_He scooted his bed over to the side and pulled out a small piece of paper he slipped under frame; it had tick marks on it for each day he spent here. Counting them up, he'd officially slept under this roof for 44 days._

_It wasn't a pleasant stay, but he was sure he wouldn't be here too much longer. He hadn't done anything wrong, and even better, the staff liked him. The other boys were starting to grow jealous of his uncanny ability to make friends with the adults. It was worrying to think they might turn on him; most of them were truly crazy, but he wanted to believe they had some good left in them._

_He heard commotion out in the hall, which was strange for this time of night. The voices stopped in front of his door, and he shut his eyes tight and turned to face away from the door. It was easy to get in trouble for staying up late._

_There was a soft creak of the door. "Allen?"_

_Deciding it was no use to pretend to be asleep, he sat up and politely responded, "Yes?"_

_The stalky figure's outline gave him an inkling that it was one of the major doctors in the building. Strange, he decided. This was strange._

_"Mind taking a trip with me down to the hospital floor? Your last tests indicated you might have some issues with your blood pressure; it'd be a bad idea to wait any longer to double check," he said. Allen was worried; what if he was really sick? He nodded and hopped out of bed, following after the man and the nurse beside him._

_A dark hall greeted him; the floor was deserted for the night, save for a dozing guard who straightened up at the sight of the doctor. The man relieved him, and Allen followed the pair down the hallway lined with empty rooms. He was ushered into a generic room; the strange table he sat up on was freezing, and he waited patiently in the dim room. There was absolutely no one around; all the workers had retired for the night. Strange, he thought. This was strange._

_The nurse came back in and he noticed she was holding a needle. "Ah, uhm, I don't want to be rude, but what's that for?"_

_The doctor sauntered in and sweetly replied, "To make you feel better; what else?"_

_"But I feel fine, honestly," he replied in confusion._

_"Allen, are you trying to get an attitude?" Allen quickly shook his head no; he never wanted to double-cross anyone. It might hurt his chances of getting out soon. Without protesting, he let the woman carefully find a vein and put the needle in. She laid him back and slowly pushed in the plunger; Allen still hadn't gotten used to the feeling of needles and they made his toes curl._

_It was an immediate reaction; he gasped out in pain and looked down at his arm in horror; the skin was turning black and blue, in almost a star-like rash. He was panicking and looked over at the two watching; neither of them looked disturbed in the slightest._

_"What," he choked on the lack of air he was getting and watched the infection spread. The flesh, right down to his cells, was rotting; this was some sort of poison. "What did I do wrong? I'm sorry!"_

_It didn't take long for him to succumb to the pain and pass out; he woke up to mumbling voices. He tried to sit up, and realized he was back in his room._

_"Complete and total recovery in 49 hours. Have we ever had a case of recovery from akuma poisoning, much less that quickly?"_

_"Purification of the poison has happened in a few rare cases, but that dose usually ends up disabling them for a couple months. He's already conscious and it's only been two days."_

_Two days. He looked down at his skin and the dim light from the street lamps below revealed it was paler than ever; the strange disease was gone. Did he have an allergic reaction to the medicine accidentally?_

_The idea that this place wasn't a sanctuary for recovery started to bubble up. Something was going on here that wasn't normal, but he had absolutely no control over it. He pulled out his piece of paper and shakily made two more marks._

_Where am I?_

"Gotta love the Order. They could've easily killed him," Road muttered.

Lenalee looked up at her in fury. "This wasn't the work of the Order! This building must have been owned by someone else before the Order bought it!"

"The Order has had rights to the place for a hundred years. Who else would be testing akuma poison?"

Kanda remembered the breakthrough cure they'd formulated; if they could get it to an exorcist in time, they could save them. He watched some of his best comrades come back from it; they even had reserves they stole from the Order at their own headquarters. Daisya had two different operations with the medicine.

A bitter taste rose up from the back of his throat; he never considered how they managed to come up with the cure. Or how many people died to make it.

Lenalee looked over at Kanda and shook her head, refusing to believe his words. Road sighed at Lenalee and looked inside the stairwell, where Tyki was inspecting with a pair of dazed eyes. He saw Road's unsure footsteps; she was trying her best to look heartless, but it was written all over her face that she was deeply disturbed.

They all were.

"You're ruining those nice shoes, Tyki," Wisely said while pointing at the ground beneath him in distaste.

"The entire stairwell is coated in blood," he replied as he looked at the pools hiding the soles of his shoes in a murky red. Luckily the strange figures resided only on that floor, and the stairwell was empty. A red emergency floodlight at the top of the stairwell was their only source of light, and it blinked in a slow repetition. An unsettling darkness settled in for a few moments, only to be replaced by blood and dingy concrete steps.

"I can hear music," Road said quietly as she stuck her head in the stairwell.

"Music?" Wisely inspected the doorway and stairwell before stepping into the new space.

Tyki remarked, "I've heard him play this song before, but I've never heard him sing it." Everyone tried not to question why he'd heard him play the piano before.

That means we're close, right?" Lenalee asked as she composed herself. He nodded and looked at the staircase with obvious annoyance.

Kanda followed them in and listened too; it was a chilling melody. The bittersweet notes seemed to be pulling at Kanda's own memories, and he tried to tune out the sound of his grace. He had no idea Allen played the piano, much less sang; but the music made his heart drop. He didn't want to know anything else about Allen's past; he desperately wanted to see him.

Wisely slowly led them up the stairwell; each step had a wire crisscrossed over it. They waited for a bright moment to advance, and then stopped when it fell dark. "Step exactly where I'm stepping; I really don't want to have to make it out of another one of those memories."

They all treaded lightly over the wires and ended up having to crawl through blood over the last steps to avoid a sharp line of wires at waist level. He spat when he made it to the top, trying not to gag at all the blood soiling his clothes. Road stepped up on the last step with a misguided hop and sent herself slipping through the blood. Snap.

"Shit, shit, shit!" She yelled and tried to get off the floor as her dress stained red from her fall.

"Too late."

_My hair has gotten too long, he thought dismally as it cascaded down his shoulders. He'd woken up after a five-day stretch this time, and he was growing so fragile that he could barely get up. They weren't even running the poisonous tests anymore, but he couldn't remember what it actually was. His head was a fuzzy mess; there were snake-like tubes attached to his arms, keeping him alive while he passed out for such long periods, he assumed._

_It was this time he snapped, ripping all the wires out angrily when he woke up. It was raining outside; the seasons were flowing by and he had no more space on his paper for tick marks. When they wouldn't tell him how long he was out and the paper grew weary of the layered marks, he tore it up in an angry fit. The idea of release was slowly fading away, and reality was setting in. He wasn't getting out._

_He tried to get up through gritted teeth, using the bed frame for support. Walking was slow and difficult, but he made it over to the mirror. He didn't recognize the figure at first, but eventually accepted that it had to be him, no matter how awful it was. Skeletal and emaciated, his body was barely holding itself up. Turning sideways might make him disappear altogether. His face looked as if it was dusted with charcoal, highlighting sunken cheekbones and dull eyes. This wasn't fair; I didn't do anything wrong._

_Angrily, he raised a weak fist and pushed straight through the mirror, shattering it into a spiderweb crack and embedding glass into his knuckles. He punched it again, with his other fist._

_"Stupid mirror," he muttered and saw blood on the glass when he hit it again. I don't want to see myself get any worse._

_His door slammed open and a concerned nurse came in; apparently the noise notified her._

_"Allen! you aren't supposed to be up, you know that!" She gasped when she noticed his bloodied hands and the smashed mirror._

_"I'm sick of this. Go ahead and kill me, or fuck off already," He spat back. She looked appalled; he knew it was out of character for him to be this angry. Blame it on the meds, if you want. She backed out of the room nervously, probably to go get help._

_"Guys, Allen's awake!" A couple kids came in the room and then their faces fell when they saw him._

_One kid remained cheery and came over to look at his hands. "This is so metal, dude! The glass in your hands is like brass knuckles or something. You could take out one of these nurses with those!" He made little punching motions._

_"You look dead, Allen. What've they been up to?" Edgar said curiously as he sauntered over. He tried to pinch Allen's side, but much to his surprise, it took a few inches to find Allen's frame beneath his clothes._

_"Not really sure anymore. They've tried to turn my head into mush," Allen replied sarcastically._

_"I miss seeing you around. These little hellions just like getting in fights," he said with a warm smile. The other kids protested and ended up getting in a fight between themselves over the idea that they fight too much._

_Edgar was his only real friend around here; he snuck in during the nights Allen was somewhat conscious. They talked a lot, mostly about times before this place. He was older, granted, but there wasn't anything intimidating about him. Most of all, he reminded him of Mana._

_"They're gonna mess you up for this, you know that, right?" He murmured as he took a look at Allen's hands._

_"Not really sure I care at this point," Allen said while grinning._

_"The day they break your spirit is the day they'll break mine," he replied cheerfully. Allen desperately hoped that he'd be able to meet Edgar someday, under better conditions, once they finally made it out of here. They'd both promised that if one got out, the other would come and save him. Neither even knew why they were here._

_"Get out, you little monsters!" They all squeaked and rushed out of the room; Allen saw the same nurse, along with the doctor standing at the entrance._

_"We don't tolerate insubordination lightly around here, you know," the doctor said as he approached him._

_"Give 'em hell, Allen!"_

_ "Get back in your rooms, now!"_

_"It was nice knowing this side of you Allen," Edgar said, and gave an endearing smile before he was shooed down the hall. He really doesn't expect me to come back as the same person._

_He let himself be dragged down to the other floor rather forcefully, into the back room far away from the normal patient rooms. In fact, he'd never been here before._

_The nurse forced him down on a bed and glared at him, meaning that he was going to stay put whether he liked it or not. Another man came in and looked extremely perplexed. He barely looked up from his clipboard to notice the man._

_"Too young to force a sync rate; you know that. Don't even ask me to consider it."_

_"My patient, my rules. Besides, he was born with it; this is important so we can see how far we can push the older exorcists. The longer we wait, the more the number of exorcist hosts decreases. Refining the stuff will get us a better price, you know that. We need the funding, and the kid is more than willing."_

_They were in a moral standoff, and for once, Allen did get a sense of fear. He'd heard them mention synchronization before, but had no idea what it meant. The second consultant had a very pained look on his face, and then glanced at Allen. After looking at his own appearance in the mirror this morning, he didn't blame his disturbed expression. He sighed and said that he didn't want any involvement, leaving the room in an angry huff._

_"Redirect Hevlaska's base power system to room A-E101 in exactly 3 minutes," the first doctor said into a cell phone. Edgar once told him Hevlaska was the name of the program that the building ran on; apparently it was the name of a mythological creature that symbolizes purity. Allen laughed a lot about that._

_The nurse pushed him down onto the bed and struggled to belt his hands and ankles to the sides of the bed, explaining that it was for his own safety. She meant what she said, but Allen didn't buy it. They just didn't want him to run away. He didn't struggle and remained flippant despite the growing anxiety; this was different._

_There was a surge of strange power in the room and the nurse scuffled out, along with a doctor. One of the walls in this room was made of glass, making it look like an interrogation or ICU unit rather than a regular check up room. Allen wanted to loudly protest and ask for answers, but nothing was coming out of his mouth whenever he tried to speak._

_The room grew too bright for him to keep his eyes open, and a strange warmth fell over the space. He didn't mind it at first, until it started to sting. His left arm was twitching, but the light made it impossible to tell what was happening. It felt like pure electricity was replacing the blood in his skin, and his thoughts crashed like thunder. His bones were splintering a crumbling beneath the weight in the room; his arm was throbbing and burning as if someone lit it with kerosene._

_"Off! We've already exceeded the limit!" Allen was screaming; he could hear his own voice over the blood pounding in his ears. There were a few more seconds; his head went blank with pain._

_"-Conscious or not?" Allen clawed his way back into reality, and looked up at a nurse blankly._

_"88% percent before we had to stop! That's better than three-fourths of those amateur exorcists working for us!"_

_"You nearly killed him; don't sound so happy!"_

_He faded off, and when he woke back up, he was in his room again. It took him a week to remember how to think and speak; but he had to pull through, if only for his friend's sake. The warmth in Edgar's face when he returned to his normal state was worth it._

_Of course, the next time it took even longer to come back to reality. Five more tests, until he was up to ninety five percent. The numbers meant nothing to him, he didn't understand anything. Words were garbage, and so were people. But he remembered the sixth time; they began to lead him out of the ward once more until a figure stepped in front of them._

_"No."_

_"Edgar, we can either call a security guard or you can step out of the way."_

_"I said no. Take me instead." The doctor looked skeptical, and then intrigued._

_"Wait," Allen said hoarsely, "don't do it! I'm fine! I can go again! You aren't going to make it, Edgar, you don't know what they'll do to you!"_

_"I'll be fine," he lied, "you always come back, right?" Allen was held back until Edgar was gone, and he felt tears start to sting at his eyes. He didn't let them fall; Edgar would be fine. He was strong._

_Allen sat on the floor in front of his door and waited. A few hours later, they brought him back, stumbling and pale. He saw it in his expression; something hadn't gone well. A day, a week, a month passed; a piece of Edgar never came back from that hall._

_He'd lost the only person close to him, again. Worst of all, he had to live with the shell of his failure to protect someone once again._

"Fuck this!" Kanda yelled and punched the wall.

"Kanda, calm down," Lenalee lightly put a hand on his shoulder and he pushed her off.

"I'm sick of this! The Order is going to pay the second I'm out of this mindtrap; Wisely! We're moving on, now!"

When they finally made it to the top of the grueling staircase, Kanda realized there wasn't a higher. This was the last platform, with a grungy door jammed in front of them. Wisely groaned as he looked at the door handle.

"We can't go up any higher. Does that mean this is the final hall?" Lenalee said as they stood behind an ominous door.

"Another unavoidable door trap? This hardly seems fair," Tyki remarked.

"Do you hear how loud the music is? We're super close," Road said. It was picking up to a chorus, and Kanda could almost hear the lyrics. They all sat there for a moment in reverence for the somber keystrokes, soft as falling rain but sharp as broken glass.

"Pretty," she remarked as she listened in with her ear against the door.

"Right," Wisely tried to keep them focused, "what's the plan?"

"It's only the door handle, right? The hinges and frame look clear. If Tyki pushes it open from the other side lightly, it might not snap them," Lenalee said quietly. He shrugged his shoulders and disappeared.

"Are there wires on that side?"

"She's right, there aren't any on the hinges this time, and I don't see any on the door frame. I say we give it a go," Wisely said while squinting through the door.

Tyki didn't respond, but they all heard the door click and it slowly came open.

"Careful, careful, careful," he said as Road slipped in. The other four followed in.

The music was clear now, echoing down the dark hall. The lights were out on this floor, and the only source of visibility was the moonlight filtering in through the windows.

"Well, shit," Wisely said as the windows illuminated a spider web of threads.

"I'm guessing this is the last room, then," Road said as she looked at the wires tangled across the room in a spider web of criss-crossing string. There was a pair of double doors at the end of the hall, and the music was obviously coming from in there.

"Probably the worst memories are in that mess. It's the final defense mechanism to keep us out," Tyki said.

"The strings," Lenalee squinted and pointed one out, "these first ones are golden. They aren't clear, like the other ones. And look, it's not a giant web of clear wires; it's one, stretched out and spiraling. What does that mean?"

"It's the memory keeping Allen stuck in here. This is it. He's just across the hall, but this is definitely a different kind of trap," Wisely said as he bent over to get a better look at the coloured strings.

"Are the gold ones made to keep us out? Perhaps they are our own memories, getting caught up in Allen's head," Tyki murmured.

"Never come across any like these, so your guess is as good as mine," Wisely said while scratching the back of his head.

"Pull one," Road said, intrigued.

"Hey, wait, let's think this through!" Road didn't listen and, with a sharp fingernail, snapped one of the shimmering wires. Nothing happened for a moment, and the room fell empty except for Allen singing.

"Bummer, maybe they're just faulty strings. Let's try this one," Road said and went to snap another string.

"What's happening to the girl?" Everyone turned around and saw Lenalee on the ground, pulling at her hair and fighting back tears. Kanda rushed over to her and called out her name a couple of times.

"I didn't," she was hyperventilating, "I didn't mean for it to happen!"

"Get a hold of yourself! It's not real!" Wisely yelled and came over to her. He tried to get her to look into her eyes, and she started shaking to break free from Kanda and Wisely's grasp.

She grabbed Wisely's hands. "Please, just kill me already! I don't want to be here anymore!" She didn't seem to be referencing Allen's head as the place she wanted to escape; some other memory was getting tugged on until she snapped.

He blinked a couple of times and then looked at everyone's disturbed faces.

"My brother has nothing to do with it! I'm better off dead! Kill me!" She started lashing out and Kanda held her down that she wouldn't start attacking them.

"Those wires must be our own sanity in this place. Shit, I'm sending her out before this gets worse," Wisely clasped his hands together and then placed them on the wall, creating a shadowy doorway.

"Get her out as quick as possible," He said hurriedly and Kanda picked her up against her protests.

"Will she be fine outside?"

"Yeah, she's only being attacked by Allen's head right now," Wisely said as they forced her through the doorway.

"I'm sure your other friend can handle it, unless you want to go back now. Actually," Wisely reopened the door he created, "it might be best if you all go back."

"You guys," Road said and pointed at the wires, "There's only two more different ones. Two of us are safe."

Allen's voice picked up, and they all looked each other in a quiet reverence. "I'm not about to watch a Noah go berserk," Kanda finally said.

"More like you won't be able to stop a Noah going berserk, right?" Kanda grunted in admissible agreement.

"Messing with the Noah's memory is probably the worst idea at this point. We can't have another breakout like Sheryl," Wisely murmured. Kanda raised an eyebrow, but didn't want to press the matter.

"So does that mean we're dropping out?" Tyki asked as he looked at the wires lining the hallway.

"'fraid so." He opened up another doorway, and Road whined at the fact that she couldn't stay for the finale.

* * *

"Did you guys fail?" Lavi asked as Tyki and Road wearily stepped out from an eye cast into the hardwood. It faded off, cutting all connection to Kanda and Wisely.

"It's too dangerous for us to stay, apparently. How's the girl?" Road asked as she sauntered over to a bed.

"She was completely lost for a while, but I set her down in bed. She's sleeping now," Lavi said as he looked over at her peaceful figure. The slow rise and fall of her chest relieved him.

"And Allen?" Tyki asked as he walked over to the bed that was Kanda's.

Lavi pursed his lips and walked over to check on him. "He was fine for a while, sleeping like nothing was wrong. And then he went into hysterics, yelling at you guys to get out of his head. It was sort of sporadic convulsions, and there wasn't really a pattern to it. And every time I tried to hold him down, it was like I was pulled into a memory. It was horrifying, the stuff I saw. Was it real?" Their silence confirmed it and he shook his head while taking off his bandana.

"It was each time we set off a wire," Road said.

"I'm afraid we can't stay any longer, Mr. Bookman. There are some domestic issues we have to tend to," Tyki said and eyed Road.

"Leaving Devit alone makes me nervous, too, Tyki, but shouldn't we wait for Allen to come back?"

"Wisely will take care of it," Tyki said.

"Whatever you say, boss." Road found the closest door, one into the closet, and turned a key so that it opened up to a signature room of hers.

"Next time we meet, don't expect any fair treatment. I could very well kill you both right now, but it'd be such a hassle," Tyki said as he lit a cigarette.

"You guys," Lavi said quietly as he sat down next to Allen, "do we really have to be enemies?"

"As long as you cling to innocence, we will never be able to see eye to eye," Tyki said, and stepped through the doorway.

"Bad joke," Lavi muttered as he saw Tyki winking.

Road pulled her bottom eyelid down and stuck out her tongue. "You're still a bunch of filthy worms in my eyes. And yet," a strange softness settled in her gaze, "I'm trusting you damn exorcists to take care of that idiot over there. Whatever, I'll get around to killing you."

Lavi grinned and replied, "Same to you." She gave a half-hearted wave over her shoulder and disappeared.

"Allen," Lavi said as he replaced a new rag on his forehead to try to stop the fever, "I know you can't hear me. And I know you might never come back to us. But, even if this was our last meeting, I'm so glad I met you."

_Kanda, bring him back._

* * *

Apparently they'd guessed correctly; the next two wires snapped with no backfire.

"Do you think it set up a trap for the biggest threats?" Kanda muttered as he inspected the unavoidable, thick memory wire wrapping around the rest of the room.

Wisely laughed and left a confused Kanda behind. "Don't you get it?"

"Allen wants you here. He doesn't want to kick you out, and he knows that I have to tag along to play gatekeeper," Wisely said while smiling like a fool.

"Then why'd he kick out Lenalee?"

"I'm assuming Road's thoughts influenced it, but thats just me speculating. I think his head would want to get rid of the three unfamiliar threats and not you two harmless humans."

"Allen doesn't want to kick me out? I don't really believe that," Kanda mumbled quietly. Allen should've sent him out the first chance he got.

"Oh, give it up already. I can see right through your act; Allen is really important to you, isn't he?"

"Stay out of my head," Kanda snapped and threw up his best attempt as a wall between his thoughts and reality.

"Right, right," Wisely said with no intention of following through, "Let's get this show on the road, right?"

He put his hand on the wire, but before he snapped it, he said, "It doesn't feel good to have someone in your head, right? Imagine what Allen's gonna do when we pull him out of here."

Kanda knew they'd gone beyond the words invasion of privacy. With a harsh tug, the wire snapped, and started to uncoil around the room.

"Stay calm, and keep reminding yourself it's a memory," Wisely instructed.

Everything went hazy, and the sound of Allen singing was the only sense he had left.

_Allen had sat out by the tombstone for a couple of days now; he could feel his body starting to waver. He couldn't sleep, he couldn't eat, he couldn't feel. Didn't want to._

_The graveyard was eerie and a lush fog hung over it. the sky had a discomforting red hue to it on this night; Allen wondered if this meant he was finally going to die. Waiting on death was painful._

"Get out!" Kanda felt pressure starting to crush his head; Allen was trying to force them out of the memory. Something was deeply rooted here, something they weren't meant to see.

"Fight him off," Wisely grunted.

_"Mana," Allen said weakly, "I'm coming."_

_He rested his head on the cool stone and felt himself begin to drift off._

_"Lovely night, isn't it, Allen Walker?" He slowly pulled himself back into awareness and saw a robust man inches away from his face._

_"Who," Allen jumped back, "who are you? Why do you know me?"_

_"A man who answers prayers, my dear boy. Mana Walker, such a tragedy," he said as he admired the headstone._

_"Wait!" Allen grabbed the fabric of his coat. "If you answer prayers, can you bring Mana back? I would do anything, I swear I'm a good person! Please!"_

_"I have heard your suffering, and came here to help you. Of course I can bring your beloved father back, on one condition of course," he replied and held out a hand._

_Allen put his hand in his and his eyes lit up. "Anything! I'd do anything!"_

_"To bring back a soul from the dead, an equal payment must be made," The man said as if he'd done this a million times._

_Allen pondered his words for a moment. "You can take my heart for all I care. I just want to see Mana again."_

_The grin on his face deepened and he said, "I admire your resolve. You truly are a loving son. Now, this wont hurt a bit."_

_The large man gestured for Allen to open up his arms and then reached into his chest. Allen realized that it didn't hurt at all, despite the fact that his hand was passing right through him. He pulled out what looked like a shooting star; it was a glowing collection of light that mimicked a prism. It emitted a range of colors and was almost blindingly bright._

_"Is that my," Allen touched it daintily and smiled at the warmth, "is this what souls look like?"_

_The man looked a bit stunned as he admired the twirling light in his hand. he even wiped off his glasses to get a better look._

_"This is one of the most beautiful souls I've ever come across," he said in disbelief._

_"It's all yours, I guess. What about Mana?" The man snapped out of his trance and suddenly the ever-present grin he had loomed over him._

_"I would never cheat you. So, as promised," the man put the glowing orb in his pocket and fished around in another large pocket, "I will bring back Mana Walker's soul."_

_The soul he pulled out of his pocket was nothing like Allen's; it was black and harsh and brittle like a lump of coal. The light it gave off was a dingy yellow, like a gas lamp._

"Get out of my head!" Kanda felt nauseous as Allen was starting to tear at his mind to leave the memory. He didn't want them there any longer. He could faintly see the hallway again, and Wisely's face.

"We have to," Wisely was having trouble breathing, "we have to finish the memory to get past this hall. Hang in there."

_He set the soul on the ground over the grave and Allen watched as a shadowy figure climbed out of it, like a weed sprouting. Something was wrong; it sounded as if it was in pain. The groans and moans the dirt made scared Allen, and he took a couple of steps back, bumping into the headstone._

_"Don't be scared, Allen," the man said and pushed Allen closer, "it's your dear Mana."_

_"Mana?" Allen questioned quietly, a little scared of the figure rising from the earth._

_"How dare you," the black figure spat out black clots of blood as it talked. Allen's eyes widened in horror; the figure was nothing more than a brittle, blackened corpse. He looked as if his body had been thrown into a fire pit and dragged back out like a rag doll._

_He did a double take between the large man and the corpse in front of him, shaking his head in defiance. "That's not Mana! What did you do?"_

_"No," the man shook his finger, "what did you do, Allen? I only did what you asked."_

_The figure lurched forward and wrapped its hands around Allen's neck, trying to choke him. "How dare you do this to me, Allen?!"_

_"I didn't know, I'm sorry!" Allen choked out. He was losing the ability to breathe._

_"This is the perfect soulless vessel for you to escape that charred figure, Mana. The pain will go away; go ahead and wear his skin," the man said and Allen felt his heartbeat slowing down._

_"I curse you, Allen! I curse you to see the reality of hell around you, and to live on in hell itself!" Mana let go of Allen's neck only to scrape his blackened, dirty fingernails across his face. Allen screamed in pain, and the Earl watched with strange curiosity._

_The rotting body looked at the man, and then back at Allen. His anger settled into a strange resentment, no longer an uncontrollable rage. Mana took both of his hands and dug into the side of Allen's face until he gouged out his left eye. Throwing away the bloody eye he'd torn out, he reached into his own chest._

_"Go ahead," he said teary eyed, "Mana, just go ahead and kill me. This is my fault."_

_Allen was grabbing at his eye and screaming for Mana to just go ahead and kill him. There was a moment of hesitation flickering in the sunken eye sockets._

_"I always told you to keep moving, so why did you quit here? Allen, I," Mana was coming back to his senses and started pulling at where his heart should've been. The flaky, black skin was starting to shed onto the barren dirt. He pulled out an orb like shell; the weak light it held was almost nonexistent._

_"I love you," Mana said, while salty tears burnt his skin. He took the orb and thrust it into Allen's eye socket. He shrieked out in pain as the foreign object burnt into his skin._

_"Please, destroy me, Allen," the body said as it began to crumble into dust._

_"Why can't I just go with you! Mana, I don't understand!" He shrieked as a sudden light erupted from his hand. In a spider-like display, a claw dragged him toward Mana's figure. It slashed through the decaying skin like paper, and Mana was nothing more than a pile of bright powder within a few moments._

_"No," Allen whimpered as he held the ash in his hands. It lit up at his touch, shining like sparks were going off._

_"I love you, Allen. Don't stop here; keep moving forward."_

_"MANA!"_

Kanda realized he was back in the hall; it was over.

"I wasn't aware that the Earl had Allen's soul," Wisely muttered. Kanda hadn't heard of the Earl collecting souls. He wanted to ask Wisely, but his throat was choked up. They both quietly walked across the now cleared floor.

"Does Allen have that Mana guy's soul inside of him?" Kanda asked quietly as they trudged down the pitch black hall.

"Did you see the shape that thing was in? It was nothing more than a painful curse. Allen sent that bastard straight to heaven with that innocence, and it looked like he'd already was doing time in Hell," Wisely muttered.

Kanda came to a dead halt. Innocence. Allen had innocence.

"Are you seriously that thick that you hadn't figured it out yet?" Wisely said while knocking on Kanda's skull. He pushed him away in anger and Wisely sighed.

He saved them from Road with it. He saved them in the church with it. It was what was hiding behind his other glove.

"This is not the time to space out, idiot. We've gotta get in there," Wisely said while staring at the doors.

Kanda put a shaky hand on the door handle. "No wires?"

"This is it, my friend," Wisely said, and put his hand on the handle.

They both pulled open the doors and there he was, perched on a piano bench and playing. The room was white and barren, except for a piano and a mirrored wall. Kanda could see his own reflection, along with Wisely's.

"Allen!" Kanda tried to run over to him, but Wisely put a hand on his shoulder.

"Let him finish the song. We don't know how he's going to react, and we don't know if we're going to have to pull him out of here without a fight or not," Wisely said quietly.

They listened to the final notes, and Allen sang out the rest of the song. The notes faded off, and a silence fell over him.

"Get out," Allen said quietly as he sat by the silent piano.

"You can't stay cooped up in your room all day. Go on, get some fresh air," Wisely said, mocking a mother's tone.

"Open up a door, and I'll do the rest," Kanda said quietly in Wisely's ear.

"How will I know when you wanna push him through? This is a bad idea," Wisely whispered harshly. "You have to pull him back to normal before we drag him out. Taking him out like this means we might lose his sense of self."

Before Wisely could grab him, Kanda stomped over to where Allen was sitting and roughly grabbed him by the shoulder. Allen's eye was black, and the usual mark was now a pattern of intricate swirls along the side of his face.

"Didn't you say you were going to keep going forward?"

"Get out of my head. I don't have anything to go back to," Allen muttered and looked away.

Kanda grabbed his chin and forced him to look. "Allen! Are you really content with leaving all of us behind?"

"You three barely even know me. Just forget about me." Kanda realized there wasn't the usual intensity in his eyes; he looked dead, with glossy eyes and a doll-like complexion. He punched him so hard he tripped over the piano bench and fell to the floor.

"What happened to you? You look like you've given up, and that's not the person I knew!"

"Do you ever think you really knew me, Kanda? Isn't it proof enough here that I've never really had my own personality?" Allen's voice sounded dark, and he wiped the blood off the side of his mouth.

Kanda pulled him off the floor by the shirt collar and glared at his dim gaze. "I know the bastard who saved us when we lost everything. I know the bastard who still had a fire in his eyes, even when there was nothing left. I know you, Allen, and it terrifies you."

"Someone left you here to rot in this building. They left you here to die, didn't they?" Wisely put a hand on Kanda's shoulder and gave him a serious look of distaste; Kanda shrugged him off.

"They drugged you, shot you up, fried your brain until all that was left was a tiny little soulless freak," Kanda said. He took a step closer to Allen, who was desperately trying to get onto his feet and away from Kanda.

"Stop talking," Allen said angrily.

"Did it hurt," Kanda took another step closer, "Did it burn your skull when they pumped electricity right into your weak little head? Did the needles pinch at your skin? Did the kids who tormented you, sliced you up and beat the shit out of you; did that hurt? Did you forget how to feel somewhere along the way?!"

"Stop talking! Shut up!"

"Kanda, man, you're pushing too hard," Wisely said quietly.

"When you watched your own father die; did that make you feel anything? When your eye was torn out of your head, when your very soul was pulled out from your chest," he had Allen cornered now, and he was fighting back bitter tears, "no, it didn't mean a thing to you. You just ran off and hid, like the pathetic little child you are."

"That Edgar kid; did losing him make you lose faith in the rest of humanity? Did you really lose your soul when Mana died? Even now, you're clinging to the last shred of your fears; look me in the eyes, Allen!" He grabbed his chin and forced him to pull his gaze from the floor.

"Look at your own damn blood, covering my clothes. Look at this stupid room." The wallpaper was curling, revealing rotting wood and bloodstains. The piano collapsed into a pile of firewood and curled, rusty strings. The keys fell like dominoes.

"This lie you've lived in," Kanda said softly, "How long has it been since you felt a thing?"

"Stop! Get the hell out!"

"Are you scared, Allen?"

"Please," Allen felt himself sinking to his knees, "just let me stay here. Please go."

"Is this moving forward?" Allen's eyes widened, and he looked at Kanda in disbelief.

"You," Allen's voice was trembling in anger, "You have no right to talk about Mana! You don't have any right to act like it was no big deal, what happened to me! You can't just expect this shit to just disappear!"

"It's not me who's doing it; you're the one playing pretend," Kanda said. He saw the brightness he so hated, the will to live on; it was back for a few seconds.

Allen blinked a couple of times, before breaking off into laughter. He pulled himself free of Kanda's grasp and stumbled back a few steps. " You think you know me? Just because you made a mess of my head don't mean you know a thing. You mean nothing to me. None of you do; I was just using you."

"Oh really?" Kanda smirked as Allen was accidentally backing towards Wisely's door.

He came in close and grabbed the front of his shirt. Leaning in, he whispered in his ear, "I know you well enough to tell when you're lying."

"I don't know what you're playing at but," Kanda gripped him tighter and raised a boot, "you'll never get rid of us three, no matter how hard you try. Fine; be afraid to trust us. Be afraid to wake up tomorrow morning. Just don't act like a self loathing idiot and stay here."

Allen gave out a cry of shock as Kanda kicked him straight through Wisely's door.

"You sure you got his personality back before you so graciously sent him through?" Wisely asked, extremely skeptical.

"I saw it in his eyes. That idiot is back alright, and better be ready for the ass kicking of his life."

"You're trying to look cool, but it took everything in you to do that," Wisely said as he watch Kanda's trembling hands.

"You broke him apart."

"And now he can pick up the pieces and put himself back together. Come on, we're leaving this hell hole," Kanda instructed. Wisely gave him a military salute and followed him out.

* * *

"Why didn't you stop him earlier? How could you fall asleep! Lavi!"

"I'm so sorry, Lenalee!"

Kanda slowly came back into awareness and the room was filled with a chorus of frantic shrieks from Lavi and Lenalee. They were running around the room in a heated argument, with Lenalee on the argument side.

"What the hell is you two's problem," Wisely said as he rubbed his forehead.

"Lavi dozed off and Allen's screams woke us up! He looked like something straight out of a horror movie; I swear he was possessed!"

Kanda ran over to the bed and realized that Lavi had tied Allen's hands behind his back. There were scratch marks all over the side of his face; apparently he'd been clawing at his eye. Wisely and Kanda exchanged eye contact when they realized that it was the last memory they set off.

"Wisely, when is he going to wake up?" Kanda asked, but then realized Wisely was nowhere to be seen.

"He's been running a fever for a while, but he was sick in the first place right?" Allen didn't look well; he was flushed and pale and shivering.

"Where'd the Noah go?" Suddenly Kanda was roughly pushed out of the way and Wisely was heaving over a large bucket of ice water. He took no care as he swung it over the side of the bed, drenching the sheets and especially Allen.

"Rise and shine, lazy ass!" Wisely yelled. The three took a couple steps back, appalled at his idea of nicely waking someone up.

"Hey, Wisely, he's sick!" Lenalee protested and angrily took the bucket.

"Not sick, it's just his body shutting down from the attack. We've gotta keep him awake for a bit, at least an hour," he replied matter-of-factly.

Allen immediately started coughing and tried to sit up, only to realize he was too weak. He looked lost and frightened, alarm building in his expression when he realized his hands were tied, and Kanda quickly worked to untie them before he panicked.

"Why are you throwing water on me?" Allen finally said at the Noah but slowly trailed off as everything started coming back to him. He slowly lost all the emotion and color out of his face, and then looked over at Lenalee and Lavi.

"Welcome back," Lenalee said quietly while holding in tears.

"We don't have time for that, miss," Wisely said and tore the bucket out of her hands. Apparently he'd anticipated Allen's next move, and saved the floor from his vomit.

The four of them backed off, more out of disgust than anything else, and Lavi whispered, "So, is he okay? What happened?"

"Don't know if he is or not," Wisely said honestly, but then looked extremely troubled.

"It'll take a while to bring him back from nowheresville, but then again, I said the same thing before we went through his head. I probably need to get a hold of Road and Tyki," Wisely mumbled and tried to walk towards Allen.

"Hey!" Kanda yelled, and barely caught Wisely before he fell over.

"What's wrong with him?" Lenalee asked frantically.

"Been busy keepin track of you idiots, and keeping us in someone elses head," they dragged him over to the bed where he collapsed completely, "I guess I wasn't payin' too much attention to my health."

Wisely passed out moments after, and Kanda listened for a heartbeat, hoping that Noah's worked about the same as regular people.

"He's fine just," Kanda pulled his scarf down so that he didn't have to look at the strange eyes, "Just over exerted himself, I guess. Do you think Road and Tyki are coming back?"

"We're just gonna have to wait it out, I guess. Say, I think we should keep Lenalee safe downstairs, and I'll keep watch by the couch so that I can see the door and protect her room. You can sit at the foot of the stairs and watch Wisely, and Allen too, I guess. He's pretty sick, so it's not like he's going anywhere," Lavi said.

"I don't need a watchdog, Lavi. And I don't trust Kanda," She muttered while glaring. He knew he deserved it, but having Lenalee truly angry at him hurt his chest. Lavi decided to steer clear of the obvious resentment.

"I know you don't, Lena. But if those Noah come storming in here, we've got to have some innocence users ready," he replied. "And besides, Kanda is pretty trustworthy if he saved Allen, right?"

There was a loud thump. The three swirled around and noticed an absence of Allen over in the soaking wet sheets. The only clues left behind was the slam of the bathroom door.

"Allen, hey, what are you doing? You shouldn't be up yet!" Lavi yelled and came over to the door.

Lenalee tried the door handle but glowered when it jammed. "Allen, are you okay?"

Kanda gave a harsh rap on the door and said, "Do you really think a bathroom door is gonna stop us? You've got about five seconds to open the damn door!"

Allen somehow stumbled over to the bathroom; he was delirious and shaky and shivering. But he was all too aware of everything. He remembered it all, and it all was too much.

He looked over at the door, and then back at the mirror. He pushed up his hair with a clammy hand and tried to focus on his face. He shut his eyes against the pulsating room and then reopened his left eye.

The dark shadow he'd been seeing; it was Mana. The light of the soul was gone, but the dark aura that hung against his eye, misted over where it should be, was proof alone.

That night happened. It wasn't a dream; it was a memory, it was real.

"It's gone," he said quietly.

He really didn't have a soul, which was why those ghosts all came after him. If he wasn't careful, one of them could climb right into his skin, which was a terrifying thing he didn't want to think about. What didn't make sense, however, was why they came after him before he lost his soul.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Lenalee, Lavi, and Kanda managed to get the door open. They all had confusion painted over their face, and he realized he still had his eye activated.

"Your eye," Lenalee said quietly. He quickly blinked a couple of times until it returned back to its murky mercury color and tried his best not to look worried.

"Didn't mean to worry you," Allen said.

"You look really red, Allen, not to mention how much you're sweating. Come on, come on, back in bed. I'll get you some more medicine," Lavi said. Allen didn't like how they all seemed to be ignoring what they'd all seen, but then again, he didn't want to face it himself. Maybe it was easier this way.

Allen stumbled out of the bathroom and tried not to think. Dizziness came back in crashing waves, sending him tottering back and forth in his steps. A dull thud let him know that he'd definitely fallen over.

"Allen!" Lenalee was crouched next to him in worry.

"I'm fine, just slipped," Allen said while laughing as he tried to pull himself back up to no avail.

"You are such a dork, you know that?" Lenalee said while smiling.

He felt Lavi's arm slip beneath one of his armpits and Kanda locked himself under the other. They both pulled him up and dragged him back over to the bed with his toes tipped backwards.

"No more getting up, you hear me?" Lavi said sternly. Allen rolled his eyes at Lavi's attempt at a motherly tone. He grinned and reached for something on the nightstand, a facial expression that Allen did not get a good feeling from.

"What are you-" Allen was muffled by the taste of cough syrup and the pain of spoon shoved down his throat. He started spitting in disgust and Lenalee laughed at his soured face. Lavi wrung out a towel he had sitting in a bucket of ice water, which Allen wasn't sure where he got, and daintily placed it on Allen's forehead.

"What was in that?" Allen muttered while trying to get the bitter taste out of his mouth.

"You definitely do not want to know!" Lavi said cheerfully and patted him on the forehead.

Lenalee and Kanda watched, thoroughly impressed with Lavi's ability to take care of a sick person. He was strange; silly at one moment, and serious at another. He pulled up the covers on Allen before he could do it himself and walked over to Lenalee and Kanda.

"Your job," he pointed at Kanda, "is to make sure he stays put. Also, are we planning on letting Wisely sleep there?"

"We should probably tie him up," Kanda grumbled as he looked at the completely knocked out figure of Wisely. He looked way too comfortable to be sleeping in a stranger's home, curled up around a pillow and drooling.

"I think he's harmless, and besides, both of you can stay awake to make sure nothing happens. He just spent all night helping us out, you know. It's kind of rude to treat him like a prisoner," Lenalee argued.

"Fine. But I'll sew those stupid eyes shut if he shows any signs of-"

"Of what? Going after Allen?" Kanda fell silent, and Lavi patted him on the back.

"It'll be fine. Okay, I'm off to bed; this has been," she stopped at the foot of the stairs, "one of the strangest nights ever." Lavi and Kanda silently agreed.

"I'm," Lenalee stood there for a moment and whispered, "I'm afraid. I'm afraid to see Allen tomorrow. I'm afraid to lose him. I-"

"Lenalee, don't worry so much," Lavi said softly and led her down the stairs. _I am too._

Kanda flipped the lights off and sat down at the plateau of the steps. Leaning against the rails, he slowly heard Lenalee and Lavi's laughter drift off, and the noises of Lavi's phone going off as he settled into the couch.

"Put it on silent before I make you eat it!" Kanda yelled and Lavi yelled back an apology.

* * *

It didn't take long for Allen to hear Wisely softly snoring, and he rolled his eyes. He didn't blame him though; it'd been a long day, and he might've had it the worst. Kanda hadn't stirred in the last hour, either, and was probably out too.

There was no way he was getting any sleep; not with his head imitating an earthquake. Everything was hitting him all at once, and he didn't want to remember. The past is the past for a reason, he thought bitterly as he tried to sit up in the bed.

"What are you doing?" Kanda asked sharply and Allen flinched at the sudden voice.

"Jesus, I thought you were asleep," Allen said while holding his heart.

"I'm keeping watch, aren't I? Go to sleep already," Kanda muttered. Moonlight was coming in through the glass doors, and Allen could tell he looked exhausted.

"I'm not going to fall asleep tonight. You can go ahead and get some rest," Allen said and put his feet on the floor. It was cold, but hot at the same time. His body had really shut down; he couldn't remember the last time he felt this weak.

"Again, what are you doing, idiot?" Allen looked up and realized that Kanda was standing over him, with obvious irritation.

"I just need to grab something from my bag and then I'll pretend to be asleep again," Allen said sarcastically. He stood up, only for Kanda to push him back down.

"Hey!"

"I'll get it; you're just going to fall flat on your face anyway," Kanda said.

"Fine. That blue bag, next to my stuff. Can you grab it?" Kanda didn't reply and went over to where Wisely was sleeping. Warily, he pulled the small bag from underneath the bag and sauntered back over to Allen. He sat it down in his lap.

"You can go away now," Allen muttered. He didn't like doing this in front of people. Kanda eyed him for a moment, but eventually went back over to his perch at the top of the stairs. His uncomfortable stare, however, didn't seem to leave Allen alone.

He tried to ignore him; it's not like Allen had any secrets left, anyway. He used the moonlight to read the correct labels: take two of these, one of the red ones, some of those, some of these. He coughed on the water when he tried to take them all in one gulp, but eventually forced them all down. Doubling up on the pain medicine might make this night more bearable.

"You don't have to take those, you know. You aren't crazy," Kanda said quietly. Allen blinked a couple of times but didn't reply, crawling back into the covers. The room fell silent once again.

Horrible wasn't even close to the pain he was feeling; his body felt like it'd been gutted out with an ice cream scoop and bones left splintered. His head kept dragging him back to the graveyard; he desperately wanted to forget again. Blood was all he could seem to spit up for the next hour, and regretted just about every decision he ever made. He tried his best to be quiet about it, but some coughs came out in sputtered gasps and there was only so much grace one could have while gagging.

"Hey, you okay?" Allen stared blankly at Kanda's dim figure; he was crouched next to the side of the bed. His hand brushed against his forehead, only to be followed by a list of expletives as he shook out his burning hand.

Allen hoarsely laughed and replied, "Pretty pathetic, huh?"

Kanda sat down on the side of the bed and Allen felt the mattress sink. "I didn't mean what I said."

"You don't have to lie," Allen replied.

"I'm not lying!" They fell silent once again, but Kanda didn't get up.

"You mind if I lay down? That railing is hurting my back."

Allen hummed a yes in response and felt Kanda switch sides, collapsing on top of the covers with a heavy sigh. A long silence fell over the pair; maybe Kanda just fell asleep.

He felt himself getting sick again; Mana was overpowering his thoughts. All the time they spent together before the Order was branded into his head. That crumbling figure he brought back, nothing more than a rotting corpse, tore apart all the good memories and left them bitter. Worst of all, there was no chance he would see him again, because he destroyed his very soul.

"Hey." Allen looked over and realized Kanda had his head propped up on one arm and concerned written all over his posture. He suddenly felt the dampness against his face. Crying wasn't a normal thing for him, and was just downright embarrassing. He quickly wiped off the sticky tears with a gloved hand and muttered out an apology. His hands were trembling, and he felt like laughing at how weak he was.

Kanda grabbed his hand before he could tuck it back beneath the blanket and Allen shot him a puzzled look. Slipping off the glove, the pale skin and abrupt scar were highlighted by the moonlight pouring in. Allen grimaced and looked away, trying to pull his hand back.

"You don't have to force yourself to feel guilty, Kanda," Allen said while glaring. "I don't need your pity."

"Would you stop it already? I don't want to put up with this annoying side of you. Just be quiet for a while," Kanda replied, irritated but still with a strange kindness in his voice.

Letting his head sink back into the pillow, Kanda held on firmly to his hand despite Allen's tense demeanor. He intertwined their fingers together and gave a tight squeeze on Allen's hand.

"You don't have to try to patronize me. I'm not some little kid who wants comfort," Allen said stiffly.

"I know," Kanda replied matter-of-factly. "Maybe that's why I feel like I need to."

Allen was convinced that Kanda was determined to not make sense. Lightly tracing the scar, Kanda ran his thumb in small circles around his skin. The motion was comforting, and he wasn't really sure why, but it put the brakes on Allen's spinning head. Maybe, just maybe, he could get a little sleep.

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**The amount of support and sweetness I'm getting is amazing. Till next chapter! **


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